Role Reversal
by Regina the Queen of Random
Summary: An accident with Forge's new invention causes the X-Men, Brotherhood and co. to be transported from a parallel universe. There is just one thing different about these Doppelgangers, though. . .
1. Forge's New Invention

Queen of Random: I have, and never will own, X-Men: Evolution. However, I do own about five tapes, all with different episodes.  
  
This story came about from the question, 'If you were turned into a member of the opposite sex, what would you do?' I just hope that any of my (female) friends don't turn into guys any time soon.  
  
Role Reversal  
  
Chapter One: Forge's New Invention  
  
"What do you think?" asked Forge, proudly displaying his new invention.  
  
The X-Men looked blankly at the machine that stood in front of them. "Er, Forge," said Kurt, "what is it?"  
  
"What do you mean, what is it?" asked Forge. "It's a devise that allows me to see what is going on in other dimensions."  
  
"Is that really a good idea?" asked Jean. "After all, you and other dimensions, well, don't seem to get along."  
  
Forge ignored the comment. "Of course it is a good idea! Haven't you ever wondered what we are doing in other dimensions?"  
  
"Can't say that I have," replied Rogue dryly.  
  
"Well, have any of you thought of the fact that we have twins in other dimensions?"  
  
"There are enough mutant twins around," said Kitty. "Can you imagine two Pietros?" Kitty shuddered. "Or two Todds?"  
  
The others agreed. "She's right," said Scott. "There are enough Maximoffs already."  
  
"Perhaps you should just take this thing home," suggested Kurt.  
  
"You're probably right," said Forge, kind of upset. "But can you guys help me get this home? I don't want to have somebody try and grab this thing from me."  
  
"Sure," said Evan. "I can check out the new skate park that they just built out in that direction, anyway."  
  
"Then it's settled," said Scott. "We are going to help Forge get his. . . thing. . . home, without any problems."  
  
*  
  
"Yo! Pietro!" called Todd. "Ain't that the X-Geeks?"  
  
Pietro ran outside. "It is," he said when he raced back inside.  
  
"I wonder what they're up to?" asked Lance.  
  
"Let's go find out!"  
  
*  
  
"Uh oh," said Cyclops. "It's the Brotherhood."  
  
Jean looked in the direction Cyclops was staring at. "That's not a good thing."  
  
"What are we going to do?" asked Shadowcat.  
  
"Fight them, what else?" said Spyke.  
  
"Man! Not again!" complained Rogue. "Don't those losers ever learn?!"  
  
"Apparently not," replied Nightcrawler.  
  
"Hey, losers!" called a voice. "Watcha got there?"  
  
"None of your business, Quicksilver!"  
  
"It looks like another new toy of Forge's!" called Toad from the backseat of the jeep. "Yo, Blob! Move over! You're getting between me and my girl!"  
  
"Call me that again and you will be scraped off the sidewalk!"  
  
"As you wish, snookums."  
  
"That's it!" cried the Scarlet Witch. She got up from her seat, and raised a hand towards Toad, and launched her hex powers at him. With a yelp, he ducked, and the bolt missed, and instead headed for Forge's machine.  
  
"Look out! It's gonna blow!"  
  
Everyone, Brotherhood and X-Men members alike, ducked for cover, as a beam of white light blanketed the landscape.  
  
Toad was the first to stand up. "What was up with that, yo?"  
  
"I have no idea," said Shadowcat.  
  
"Oh, man! My invention!" cried Forge. "It's destroyed!"  
  
"I'm sorry, man," said Nightcrawler, trying to comfort his friend. "Can you make another one?"  
  
Forge shook his head. "I don't know. It took me ages to work on that one. It might take me months to do it again."  
  
"I'm sorry," repeated Nightcrawler.  
  
Avalanche looked around. "What was that light that we just saw?"  
  
"I don't know," said Forge. "It might have been the effect of a rip between the fabric that holds two dimensions apart."  
  
"WHAT?!"  
  
"I said, it might have been the effect of a rip between the fabric that holds two dimensions apart," repeated Forge.  
  
"You might be right about that," said Jean. "Look!"  
  
Jean was pointing at a spot where the light had emanated from. There, in the smoky air, seemed to be some figures moving around, quite unsteadily.  
  
"Let's not do that anytime soon," came a voice that seemed not too unfamiliar.  
  
"I agree," said another.  
  
"I told you that a machine like that was not a good idea."  
  
"Yeah, you should have learned by now to stop messing with dimensions."  
  
"Hey! I didn't mean for us to get attacked by them!"  
  
"Oh, and so it's our fault now?!"  
  
"Yes! If it wasn't for one of his attacks, we wouldn't be in this mess!"  
  
"Well, she shouldn't have built that machine in the first place!"  
  
"Please, can't we all sort this out peacefully?"  
  
"Stow it, Red. This is none of your business!"  
  
As the dust disappeared, it became clear that the voices belonged to twelve teenagers - four boys, and eight girls, and they were all wearing some very weird uniforms.  
  
"Oh, that's just great," said a girl with long white hair. She had been the one to ask if it was her fault that they were in this mess, as her side had attacked the other. "We've been spotted." Then she looked at the X-Men and the Brotherhood. "Men," she said, smiling. "I guess the situation can't be all bad."  
  
Quicksilver grinned, and ran over to the girl. He was not oblivious to the fact that she was wearing a very tight fitting uniform, and cut to be quite revealing. He did not pay attention to the colours - green and silver.  
  
"So," he asked, "what's your name?"  
  
The girl smiled at Quicksilver in the same way that he was smiling at her. "You tell me first, and maybe I'll tell you."  
  
"Mercuria!" said a girl who was wearing what appeared to be a variant of Avalanche's uniform - including the helmet. "He could be the enemy!"  
  
The girl - Mercuria - looked annoyed. "Shut up, Seisma. You're not the leader of the Sisterhood anymore!"  
  
Quicksilver was slightly taken aback. "Sisterhood?"  
  
Mercuria fluttered her eyelashes, obviously trying to keep Quicksilver's attention. "The Sisterhood of Mutants, of course. You haven't heard of us? Well, then. I might have to do the introductions. I'm the leader of the Sisterhood, and I'm a mutant. I call myself Mercuria."  
  
"Hold on," said Forge. "What's your real name? And your power?"  
  
Mercuria moved suddenly, faster than the eye could see. "I'm a speed demon," she said grinning.  
  
"More like speed dater," muttered Seisma.  
  
Mercuria ignored Seisma. "You, handsome," she said to Quicksilver, touching a finger to his chest in a very forward manner, "can call me Petra Maximoff." 


	2. Doppelgangers

Queen of Random: Whoa! I only put this thing up yesterday, and there are already a lot of reviews! Cool! Anyway, you must like this idea, so I'll keep on writing! I would quickly just like to say thanks to my friend Opaleye, who helped me with some of the names (it's her specialty!). I hope you guys are ready for something that will cause you to need some serious therapy.  
  
Role Reversal  
  
Chapter Two: Doppelgangers  
  
Quicksilver blinked. "Did you say Petra Maximoff?"  
  
"I sure did. Now that I've told you my name, why don't you tell me yours?"  
  
"His name," interrupted Avalanche, "is Pietro Maximoff."  
  
Mercuria was the one to blink this time. "What did you say?" she demanded.  
  
"Pietro Maximoff," repeated Avalanche.  
  
Mercuria looked around. "You're kidding, right?"  
  
"Afraid not," said Cyclops. "Who are all of you, anyway?"  
  
The girl Mercuria had called Seisma stepped forward. "I'm Lana. Lana Alvers."  
  
"What?" asked Avalanche. "I'm Lance Alvers!"  
  
"Really?" asked Toad. "Avalanche is a girl, yo! And so is Quicksilver!"  
  
"I think you are, too!" said a voice, and with that a girl hopped forward. She stared at Toad with red eyes. "I'm Tonya Tolensky. They call me Frog."  
  
"Frog?!" laughed Quicksilver. "That's funny!"  
  
"Don't make fun of her!" said another voice, male this time. "That's my job."  
  
The Scarlet Witch looked at the boy. "Wait," she said. "Who are you?"  
  
"He's the Red Mage," said Frog, hopping over to his side.  
  
"And my twin, Ward," added Mercuria.  
  
"Ha ha!" laughed Nightcrawler. Then he saw a blue girl with a long tail teleport to the front of the group. "I'm Darkstalker, one of the X-Women," she said in a German accent. "But my human name is Katrin Wagner."  
  
"This is really, like, starting to creep me out here," said Shadowcat. "Which one of you is me?" she asked.  
  
"I guess that would be me," said a boy standing off to one side, quite close to Seisma, as it happened. "I'm Carter Pryde, also known as Haze."  
  
"Nice to meet you," Shadowcat said weakly.  
  
"Are you all right?" asked a tall girl. It was hard not to see the visor which covered her eyes, obscuring them from view.  
  
"Let me guess," said Cyclops. "You're my twin."  
  
The girl nodded. "I'm Scarlett Summers, but I am also Ruby Optic, and the leader of the X-Women."  
  
"I bet I know who that is!" said Spyke. He was looking at a very large girl.  
  
"Blob's twin, right?"  
  
"That's Mass," said Mercuria, flicking a hand in Mass' direction. "Her real name is Fredericka Dukes."  
  
"Thought so," said Jean. "Guys? Where am I?"  
  
"You're probably me," said a guy with red hair.  
  
"What's your name?" asked Jean.  
  
"Jean Grey."  
  
There was silence for a moment, and then the Brotherhood started to crack up. "What's so funny?" asked Mass.  
  
"Her name is Jean Grey, yo!"  
  
"Well," said Cyclops, "it's nice to know at least one thing hasn't changed.  
  
"Let's see," said Avalanche. "All the Brotherhood, except for Wanda, are girls."  
  
"And all of the Sisterhood, except Ward, are guys," continued Seisma.  
  
"Hey, I don't mind," said Mercuria, smiling at Nightcrawler, who was shifting uncomfortably under her look.  
  
"All of the X-Men," said Cyclops, ignoring Mercuria, who had very quickly given up on Nightcrawler, and was now looking at him, "have also changed genders. Jean, Kitty and Rogue have all become guys, and Kurt, Evan and myself are all girls."  
  
"Rogue and I haven't met our twins," interrupted Spyke. "Wait, I think there's my twin."  
  
"I'm Eva Daniels, better known as Spyne."  
  
"And who are you?" asked Rogue to a guy with white in his red-brown hair. "Not that I can't guess."  
  
"I'm Roué," he said sadly.  
  
"Can we please just get on with this?" asked Ruby Optic. "So the Sisterhood, the Brotherhood, the X-Men and the X-Women have all changed genders. Does anyone have any ideas?" She looked at a girl who was busy examining Forge, and he her. "Form! It was your device that got us into this mess -"  
  
"That, and one of the Red Mage's hex bolts," muttered Roué.  
  
"- so what do you think happened?"  
  
"Well," said Form, who happened to look a lot like Forge, except she had slightly longer hair, and no goatee, "I think that we have just met out Doppelgangers."  
  
"Our what?" asked Ruby Optic.  
  
"Our twins," said Forge.  
  
Mercuria and Quicksilver waved their hands. "We've already got twins!" they said in unison.  
  
"They are versions of ourselves as we would have been, had we been the opposite gender of the ones we are now," explained Form.  
  
"So," said Quicksilver, "I would have been a really hot girl?"  
  
"Apparently."  
  
"And Blob would still be big, fat and ugly?"  
  
"Hey!" said Blob and Mass.  
  
"It appears so."  
  
"So what are we going to do about our Doppelgangers?" asked Seisma. "And how do we get home?"  
  
"That will take some time," said Forge. "But with two of us working on this project, we should have the solution twice as fast."  
  
"Until then, I think we should go to the Institute," said Cyclops.  
  
"That might not be such a good idea," said Ruby Optic. "What might Wildcat say about all of this?"  
  
"Wildcat?" asked Toad.  
  
"Oh!" interrupted Nightcrawler. "You mean Logan!"  
  
"I guess," said Darkstalker. "Is that what you are calling Lois?" 


	3. A Few Differences

Queen of Random: Okay, I think that before this chapter goes up, we do a quick run-through of all the names, but before that, I would just like to say thanks to all the people who have reviewed this story. I guess you really like it, huh?  
  
Here are the names (I'll do the guys first, and then the girls, just to try and keep this as simple as possible).  
  
Scott Summers / Cyclops Scarlett Summers / Ruby Optic  
  
Kurt Wagner / Nightcrawler Katrin Wagner / Darkstalker  
  
Evan Daniels / Spyke Eva Daniels / Spyne  
  
Lance Alvers / Avalanche Lana Alvers / Seisma  
  
Pietro Maximoff Petra Maximoff / Mercuria  
  
Todd Tolensky / Toad Tonya Tolensky / Frog  
  
Fred Dukes / Blob Fredericka Dukes / Mass  
  
Forge Form  
  
And now, here are the girls. . .  
  
Jean Grey Jean Grey  
  
Kitty Pryde / Shadowcat Carter Pryde / Haze  
  
Rogue Roué  
  
Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch Ward Maximoff / Red Mage  
  
Hope that cleared a few things up for you guys. I'll do it again at the beginning of the next chapter, if more Dopplegangers show up. . .  
  
Role Reversal  
  
Chapter Three: A Few Differences  
  
"Professor!" called Scott as he entered the mansion. "Where are you?! It's an emergency!"  
  
"Mr McCoy!" added Kitty. "Are you here?!"  
  
Evan added his voice to the mix. "Aunty O! You here?!"  
  
And then there was Kurt. "Logan! Hello!"  
  
Finally, there was an answer. "What do you kids want?" asked Logan, from a position at the top of the stairs in the foyer. "'Cause whatever it is, we're kind of busy."  
  
"We've got company," explained Scott.  
  
Logan narrowed his eyes. "You, too?" Then he groaned. "Hank! They've got them, too!"  
  
"What was that all about?" Rogue whispered to Roué.  
  
"I don't know," came the reply.  
  
"Wildcat!" called Scarlett. "You're here, too?"  
  
Everyone looked up. Standing next to Logan was a woman. She saw the Sisterhood, growled, and popped out claws that were identical to Logan's.  
  
"I guess we know who that is, huh?" Kurt asked Evan.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Lois," began Scarlett, "who else is here?"  
  
Lois growled. "Doctor X, Hurricane, and Animal. What are they doing here?" she asked, pointing her claws at Petra and the other members of the Sisterhood.  
  
"They were dragged here when the fabric that separated our two dimensions was torn apart," explained Forge and Form in unison.  
  
"It seems that we are not the only ones who have changed gender," remarked a voice. As well as Xavier entering the room, a woman, also in a wheelchair, followed him. She continued speaking. "Lois, we must give them common courtesy. They are stuck here, too. And we may have to work together to solve this problem."  
  
"You're probably right, Charlotte."  
  
*  
  
"So, Forge," began Xavier (the male one), "you had an accident with an invention of yours, and it brought all of these people to our world?"  
  
"That's right," replied Form. "Although, I, too, made one. We had a similar sort of an accident in our world. Ward blasted it on our way home."  
  
"That's what happened to us!" interrupted Evan. "except Wanda blasted US!"  
  
"Hey!" said Ward and Wanda at the same time. "Don't blame us!"  
  
"Yeah!" added Todd and Tonya in unison. "They had tragic childhoods!"  
  
Amazingly, Ward calmed down, and Tonya sat next to him. "Are you okay?" she asked, worried.  
  
Todd's mouth dropped as Ward put his arm around Tonya's shoulder and pulled her close. "Yeah. I guess."  
  
Wanda just stared as Tonya buried her face in Ward's chest. "That's good."  
  
"What?!" screeched Wanda.  
  
Ward looked up. "What? Aren't you dating Todd?"  
  
"You're dating?" asked Todd, hardly believing what he was hearing. "You two are a couple?"  
  
Tonya nodded. "Yep." Then she smiled. "Well, we started after I cleaned my teeth and started taking a shower every day."  
  
Todd turned to Wanda. "If I did that, would you -"  
  
"NO!"  
  
Tonya looked at Todd, and smiled sadly. "It was worth a shot."  
  
Scarlett shook her head at the exact time Scott shook his. "Can we please get on with our original plan?" she asked, her tone exasperated.  
  
"Sure," said Lana, then. . . "Petra! Stop hitting on the guys!"  
  
Petra looked up from her seat on Lance's lap. "What?" She stopped running her hands through Lance's hair, and following that, Lance's face took on a very relieved look.  
  
"We are here to work!" said Lana angrily. "Not to hook up with guys! Especially not me as a guy!"  
  
Petra frowned. "But I just want to have fun!" Then she brightened. "All right," she said, jumping off Lance's lap. "I'm not fussed."  
  
"That's better."  
  
Petra grinned, and sat down on the couch next to Kitty. "So," she said, smiling, "Kitty. Do you -"  
  
"Petra! Stop hitting on the girls!"  
  
Petra pouted. "What? I can't hit on the guys, I can't hit on the girls. What am I supposed to do then? All I want to do is to have fun!"  
  
"Well, do it some other way!" retorted Lana angrily.  
  
"Fine then! Where's Pietro?"  
  
"Honestly!" muttered Jean (the male one).  
  
"You know," said Kurt. "We're going to have to do something about that."  
  
"About what?" asked Eva.  
  
"The fact that we have two Jean's, and unlike the rest of us, they have the exact same name," answered Katrin.  
  
"You're right," said Evan. "So, anyone got any ideas?"  
  
"We could always say Jean-the-girl and Jean-the-boy," suggested Eva.  
  
"We could," said Katrin. "Or we could just call one Jean, and the other something else."  
  
"Like what?" asked Scott, who had been listening to the conversation.  
  
"Like, maybe we could call the girl Jean, Jean," said Kitty.  
  
"And the male Jean, Grey," finished Carter.  
  
"I can live with that," said Jean - sorry, Grey.  
  
"Me, too," added Jean.  
  
"Okay, people," interrupted Hank. "Now that we have that pressing issue sorted, let's get back to this little problem."  
  
"Excuse me," said Roué. "Where is Ms McCoy? Animal?" he added, almost as an afterthought.  
  
"Henrietta is down in the science labs," replied Charlotte (Note: Charles Xavier is called Xavier, and Charlotte Xavier is. . . Charlotte. Thought this might be helpful!)  
  
"No, I am not."  
  
Everyone turned to see a well-built woman with blue skin, and blue hair on her head walk into the room. When she smiled you could see long canines like those of the great apes. She was, in fact, built like a female Silverback gorilla, except hairless.  
  
"Is that Mr McCoy's twin?"  
  
The woman smiled. "I'm Henrietta. Also known as Animal."  
  
"Um. . ." began Kurt, "I just want to know something. . ."  
  
"You want to knew why I have very little hair in comparison to my twin."  
  
"Well, yeah."  
  
Henrietta grinned, baring those canines that made her quite a frightening figure. "Like most of my gender, I suffer from vanity. So I spend a lot of time and money having the hair removed. Blue skin I can handle, fur everywhere, I cannot."  
  
"Makes sense. But what about Katrin?"  
  
Katrin shrugged her shoulders. Like Kurt, she had very short fur covering her skin, and a tail. "I was born this way. Ms McCoy was not. I'm used to it. Besides," she added, grinning, "dudes dig the fuzzy chick!" 


	4. Mindless Teenage Chatter

Queen of Random: Hello, everyone! Thanks to all of those who have reviewed, in particular my friend Ellie. It took you long enough to notice that this fic was up! But now that it is, it is my solemn duty to continue with it.  
  
I've really enjoyed reading your reviews, and I don't mind the suggestions I have been getting for this one, and for 'Beauty and the Beast'. Thanks if you have, and if you haven't, learn where the review button is!  
  
Somebody mentioned in a review that it sounds as though Pietro and Petra are going to end up in bed, and other people have expressed the same concerns. That just made me laugh. I could just imagine that conversation.  
  
(Petra, to Lana) "Lana. I'm pregnant."  
  
(Lana, as the ground starts to shake) "What? Then, who's the father?"  
  
(Petra, looking down at the ground) "I am."  
  
(Lana, the ground shaking even more) "What? How is that even. . . eww!"  
  
And then it turns out that Petra has twins, a girl and a boy, who look just like Pietro and Petra, both with white hair, and their names are. . . Pietro and Petra!  
  
Anyway, I can neither confirm nor deny whether or not that sort of scenario will occur, although I can tell you that it is highly unlikely. I do, however, want your input. What do you think should happen if the Doppelgangers go out on the town? Who will end up with whom? Will Petra anger Pietro by bringing home more girls than he does? Who knows?  
  
Before this chapter begins, here are the other names.  
  
Charles Xavier / Professor X is also Charlotte Xavier / Doctor X  
  
Logan / Wolverine is also Lois / Wildcat  
  
Hank McCoy is also Henrietta McCoy / Animal  
  
Ororo / Storm is also Orion / Hurricane  
  
That's all. I'll stop blabbing now.  
  
Role Reversal  
  
Chapter Four: Mindless Teenage Chatter  
  
Kurt and Katrin watched in admiration as their super-genius friends sorted through the pieces of their machines.  
  
"And here is the. . . no, it's yours," said Forge. "Nice work on it, though."  
  
"Thanks! Same goes for you. I found your one here," replied Form.  
  
"I'm bored!" announced Petra.  
  
"Me, too!" added Pietro.  
  
"I want to go do something fun!"  
  
"Like what?" asked Lana, exasperated. She knew that Petra was bad enough when she was bored, but add Pietro to the mix, and. . . well, you get the idea.  
  
"Maybe we should go shopping?" suggested Kitty.  
  
"That's a good idea," replied Scarlett. "Just one problem, though," she added, looking down at her uniform.  
  
"I understand," said Scott, who had changed out of his uniform. All of the X-Men had changed back into their civilian clothes upon their arrival at the Institute.  
  
The Brotherhood had, too, because Pietro had run back to their house to grab their clothes. Petra, because she was bored, had gone with him.  
  
"I guess you guys can borrow some of our clothes," replied Kitty. "But, like, would they fit?"  
  
"Well," said Petra, "why don't you and I-"  
  
"PETRA! STOP THAT!"  
  
"I was going to say that, since it appears that she is the one of the few girls closest to my size, that we take a look at her clothes. It would only be a loan, by the way," she added.  
  
"Perhaps we should talk to the Professor about this," said Scott. "Maybe he would let us take you to get some of your own clothes, at the mall."  
  
"All right," said Jean. "I can live with that."  
  
"I can, too," added Grey.  
  
*  
  
"That is an excellent idea, Scott," said Xavier. He looked at Charlotte. "What do you think, Charlotte?"  
  
"I agree, but I have to warn you, they can be a handful," Charlotte replied. "Oh, and Katrin? Don't forget to wear your image inducer."  
  
"That's right!" exclaimed Kitty. "I want to see what you look like with it on!"  
  
"All right," said Katrin. "As long as Kurt puts his on at the same time."  
  
"Cool. Count from three, then on now?" asked Kurt.  
  
Katrin nodded. "Sure."  
  
"Drei, zwei, eins. Jetzt!"  
  
The crowd of teenagers watched as the illusions that Kurt and Katrin wore when in the outside world. When the images had asserted themselves, Scott, Scarlett, Jean and Grey all started laughing.  
  
"What's so funny?" asked Evan.  
  
Katrin and Kurt turned and faced each other. When they saw each other, they, too, started laughing as well. "You look like I did when the Professor messed with my image inducer to stop me messing with it!"  
  
"I remember that!" interrupted Scarlett. "It was just after I got back from Hawaii where I was visiting Alexandra!"  
  
"And the two of you were caught in a giant storm, and Hurricane and I had to rescue you," reminded Grey.  
  
"Yeah," said Scarlett meekly. "Sorry about that."  
  
"You messed with your inducer, too?" asked Katrin, her voice filled with wonder.  
  
"Yes," interrupted Kitty. "He made himself look all muscular. He was huge! Did you do that?"  
  
Katrin looked down and did not answer. Instead, Carter said, "It was not her muscles that increased, let's just say that."  
  
"Oh!"  
  
"Anyway," said Lana, sensing that the situation way starting to get more than a bit weird. Although it was already weird, because the guys had become girls, and the girls had become guys. "I think we should all just do what they say, and get some normal clothes."  
  
"Yeah, 'cause that fruit bowl is not the most stylish thing around," mocked Petra.  
  
"And what's wrong with her helmet?" asked Lance angrily.  
  
"Nothing," replied Pietro. He and Petra laughed.  
  
"Those two are impossible," said Wanda. She looked around. "Where's Ward and Tonya? And Todd?"  
  
No one knew.  
  
*  
  
Todd sighed as he stared out the window that overlooked the backyard of the Institute. He could see the silhouettes of Ward and Tonya as they walked through the garden. Well, Ward was walking, Tonya was hopping at his side.  
  
"How come he likes her, and she doesn't like me?!" he asked himself angrily. "We're the same person, aren't we?!"  
  
"No, you're not," said a quiet voice behind him.  
  
Todd turned to se Form standing behind him. "Why not, yo?!"  
  
"Because there are some things that are different between all of us. It's because there are just some major differences between males and females. Have you noticed how in our world we use the terms X-Women and Sisterhood? Well, it's because in our world, women have been the dominant gender for millennia. That's why it's acceptable in our world for older girls to date younger guys."  
  
Todd looked at her curiously. "It is?"  
  
"Sure!" said Form. "You'd fit right in! Of course, Wanda would be a guy then, and that wouldn't be so groovy for you."  
  
"Yeah," replied Todd dejectedly.  
  
Form clapped Todd on the back. "Why don't you come back? We're all about to go out to the mall, anyway. We need to get some clothes, because I don't know how long we're going to be stuck here."  
  
Todd hopped down from his perch. "Okay. One thing though."  
  
"Shoot."  
  
"What's up with Petra? She seems, kind of weird, yo."  
  
"Well," began Form, as she started to walk away, "I don't think she's bisexual, if that's what you're getting at. She just hits on girls for kicks."  
  
"Yeah. I saw how she hit on every single one of the X-Men and the Brotherhood in the first five minutes she was here, yo."  
  
"Well, if you think she's bad now, wait until she gets out in public!" 


	5. Girls and Boys

Queen of Random: Somebody said in one of their reviews that Evan's Doppelganger should be called Marrow. I contemplated about calling her that, but in the end I decided to go with Spyne, as I knew that there was a character out there already called Marrow.  
  
As some of you may have noticed, I have tended to focus on some of the Doppelgangers, rather than the others - mostly Petra. This is because these are the Doppelgangers that have most easily have developed personalities of their own, and are the most fun to play with. Oh, dear! I'm starting to sound like Petra! That is definitely not a good thing!  
  
Anyway, that sort of trend will continue for most of the story. If anyone has any suggestions as to how the other characters (e.g. Eva 'Spyne' Daniels, and Carter 'Haze' Pryde') can become more animated, they will be most welcome. But, until then, Petra will continue to wreak havoc amongst the people of Bayville. Yes, the people of Bayville, because in this chapter, they are all getting ready to go out to the mall. Oh, no! Petra, in a place surrounded by people! In particular, teenage boys! Horrors!  
  
Role Reversal  
  
Chapter Five: Girls and Boys  
  
Clothes came flying out of Kitty and Rogue's wardrobe at the speed of light. The two girls just watched as Petra sped her way through looking at their clothes.  
  
"Don't you have anything that's not black?!" she cried in irritation. "Or pink?!"  
  
"Hey!"  
  
"Wait! I think I've found something that just might do!"  
  
"What?" asked Kitty, peering through the crack in the wardrobe door.  
  
Petra's face zoomed into her sight. "Do you mind? I'd like a bit of privacy!"  
  
"That's a switch," muttered Rogue. But she and Kitty left the room.  
  
The moment they had shut the door behind them, Petra's voice called. "I'm ready! You can come in now!"  
  
Kitty and Rogue shook their heads. Why had they even bothered?  
  
"What do you think?" asked Petra.  
  
Kitty and Rogue just stared. Petra was wearing one of Kitty's skirts, that on Kitty would have come down almost to her knees. But as Petra was taller, it had become a mini skirt, and it showed off her long slim legs. Teamed up with the skirt was one of Rogue's black halter tops, but without the see- through top that Rogue normally wore over it.  
  
"I didn't know you had your belly button pierced," remarked Kitty.  
  
Petra looked down. "Yeah. I got it done back in New York."  
  
"Did it hurt?"  
  
Petra shook her head. "Not really. I wonder if you could ask the same thing of a guy, and get that response. Ask Pietro, I noticed that he had his left ear pierced."  
  
"You have both your ears done," added Rogue.  
  
"Yeah." Petra was still looking down. "What size shoes does Jean wear?"  
  
"Why?"  
  
"I don't fit your shoes, either of yours. And I need to wear something on my feet!" retorted Petra.  
  
"You could ask her," muttered Rogue.  
  
Petra grinned. "Ooh, am I sensing some hostility there, Rogue?"  
  
Kitty laughed while Rogue scowled. "You sounded just like Pietro then!"  
  
"Well, what do you expect? I am him, and he is me."  
  
"Like, ewww," said Kitty, pulling a face. "That is just gross, and totally icksome!"  
  
"Don't worry about it, Kitty," said Petra. "I promise to stop putting the moves on you. I'm only interested in guys." She grinned. "I just hit on girls to see what their reactions are. It's kinda like my hobby."  
  
Kitty breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good to know." She suddenly thought of something that she had meant to ask earlier, but had forgotten to. "You remember the Sadie Hawkins Dance, right?"  
  
Petra nodded. "Yeah, if you are talking about the Sade Hawkins Dance, the one where the guys ask the girls."  
  
"How many guys did you take to it?"  
  
Petra laughed. "Five!"  
  
"Pietro took four," said Rogue. "Don't let him know that, he'll be really mad."  
  
Petra frowned. "But that would take away some of my fun." Then she relented. "All right. I won't tell him. But if he finds out, it won't be my fault that he knows."  
  
"Deal."  
  
*  
  
"Hey, Bobby," said Sam. "Do you know where the others are?"  
  
Bobby shook his head. "No. I saw what I thought was Kurt, but I think he must have been messing with his image inducer again."  
  
"Why?" asked Ray.  
  
"He looked like a girl!" piped up Jamie.  
  
"Well I think we should talk to him about it," said Bobby, taking charge. "Does anyone -" he stopped suddenly as a whitish blur ran past him.  
  
"What was that?" asked Roberto.  
  
"I think it was Quicksilver," replied Bobby.  
  
"That jerk!" said Ray angrily, his hands starting to electrify.  
  
The whitish blur returned. Except it was not Pietro. It was a girl. "Hey, do you know where Jean's room is? I want to know if she has some shoes I can borrow."  
  
"Who are you?" asked Ray, raising a hand.  
  
The girl sped around and leant against Ray's shoulder. "I'm Petra Maximoff. Now, do you know where Jean's room is, or not?"  
  
The boys said nothing. They were too busy staring at Petra, and her clothes. Or rather, what was not covered by her clothes.  
  
"You're no help," muttered Petra. She looked around, and smiled as another blur appeared. This one was the real Pietro Maximoff, and he was a little angry.  
  
"Where have you been?" he asked.  
  
"Looking for Jean. I wanted to know if she had some shoes I could borrow. I fit Kitty and Rogue's clothes, but not their shoes." Petra twirled around, showing off her clothes. "What do you think? Hot, or not?"  
  
Pietro swallowed, but managed to regain his composure. "You look good. You have your belly button pierced," he noted.  
  
"Thought you might like that. So, where is Jean?"  
  
"She's with Grey, Scott and Scarlett."  
  
"What about the two Alvers?" Petra asked.  
  
"What is going on?" asked Bobby. "Why are you here?" he asked Pietro. "And who are you?"  
  
"I'm Petra Maximoff," repeated Petra. "Pietro's twin." When the boys drew a blank, she sighed and said, "There was an accident with Forge's new machine. I, along with a few other, were transported from our reality to yours. There is just one difference between our reality and yours. The girls in this reality are guys in mine, and guys in this one, are girls in mine. Case in point: Pietro Maximoff, a.k.a. Quicksilver," she said, gesturing to Pietro. Then she gestured to herself. "Petra Maximoff, a.k.a. Mercuria."  
  
The boys just nodded, their faces blank.  
  
"Where is Jean, and Grey, and Scott, and Scarlett?" Petra asked Pietro tiredly.  
  
"Down in the recreation room," replied Pietro. "I think they're having the weirdest double date ever." Pietro grinned. "Are you nearly ready to go out, slowpoke?" asked Pietro.  
  
Petra fumed. "Slowpoke? I'll have you know I can be just as fast as you, if not faster!"  
  
"Then prove it!" With that, Pietro ran off.  
  
"Ha! You think you're fast?" called Petra as she ran after him. "There is a reason why I am named after a goddess!" 


	6. Mall Crawl

Queen of Ransom: I have been making a lot of apologies lately. First, for being so slow at writing more of my other fics, as I have been busy with 'Trial by Fire'. Second, for. . . oh, you guys probably do not want to know all the going son in my life.  
  
However, I feel it is appropriate that I apologise right now, as this is probably the last chapter of any of my stories for a few weeks. This is because I have exams coming up, and so I am on exam leave and studying. However, I finish my last exam a week before school actually finishes, and so will have about five days where I have absolutely nothing to do, and the only thing I will have to fill up my time is writing my stories. So it is kind of a win-win situation, for you us, except that I have to have exams. Oh, goody. I'm not worried about the German, and I think I will be okay on the Biology and Chemistry (I got top marks on the genetics bit of my Biology topic - no surprises there!), but it is the English I have to worry about. I hate writing responses to texts under exam conditions - I really don't like writing about what theme the author wants to bring out. If the teachers want to know what kind of theme the author is writing about, and how they are bringing it out, they should go and ask the author. So, until they start using my writings as part of the English curriculum at my school, they should stop bothering me about the themes of other peoples' writing!  
  
Role Reversal  
  
Chapter Six: Mall Crawl  
  
Scott stared at the group of teenagers assembled in front of him. The X- Women and the Sisterhood were all wearing sets of borrowed clothes. He was about to speak, but Scarlett spoke first.  
  
"This is going to be a nightmare," she groaned.  
  
"That is just what I was thinking."  
  
"Well, can we go now?" asked Petra, tapping her foot impatiently. She had managed to find Jean, and was now wearing some high heels. She had proved earlier that she could indeed run in them, and had beaten Pietro in the process.  
  
"Yes," said Jean. "The Professor has given us permission to use his credit cards to get you some new clothes."  
  
"But there will be a limit to what will be spent," finished Grey.  
  
"You don't really need to get me anything," said Katrin. "My holowatch takes care of any clothes." She was right. Charlotte had adjusted Katrin's holowatch so that she was not wearing clothes that were very similar to Kurt's.  
  
"Time for a mall crawl," said Eva.  
  
Petra groaned. "Can it not be a crawl? I hate that word. It's so. . . slow!"  
  
"Yeah," agreed Pietro.  
  
"Fine!" said Lana. "We'll try and do this as fast as we can, will that do?"  
  
"Yeah," replied Petra.  
  
"How are we going to get to the mall?" asked Roué.  
  
"Good question," said Scott. "We thought that Lance would take the Brotherhood, minus Pietro, and the Sisterhood, minus Petra, to the mall."  
  
"Why minus us?"  
  
"You two can run."  
  
"Oh, yeah."  
  
"What about Freddy and Fredericka?" asked Lana. "They won't both fit."  
  
"True," said Scarlett. She thought for a minute, then said, "The X-Van."  
  
"Yes," agreed Scott. "They, and a few of the X-Women, can go in the X-Van, along with a few of us."  
  
"We can teleport," said Kurt.  
  
"And we don't have to go," added Forge.  
  
"We will stay and work on the machines," continued Form.  
  
"Good idea," said Grey. "Will you take a few of the X-Men, Scott, in your car?"  
  
"Yes. Now I hope this plan works."  
  
"Trust me," said Lana. "This is going to be the easy part. You haven't been to the mall with Petra."  
  
*  
  
"Let's see," said Kitty, looking at her list for Petra. "We now need to go and get you some. . . pajamas."  
  
"I can't sleep naked?"  
  
Kitty looked at her sharply. "No."  
  
"I was just kidding," said Petra. "You need to loosen up. Anyone would think you were Scarlett, being Miss Goody-Two-Shoes. Or, Miss Goody-One- Eyes."  
  
"Well, what kind of pajamas do you want?" asked Kitty.  
  
"Those," replied Petra, pointing to a pair of pale blue satin boxers and matching singlet top. "They'll do."  
  
"All right, grab them." Petra did so. "Now we're done in the lingerie store, now we need to get you some day clothes. And some shoes."  
  
"Yeah," said Petra. "Some running shoes in particular. Not that I'm not digging Miss Perfect's heels or anything, but I like running better than these shoes."  
  
After paying for their purchases in the lingerie store, Kitty and Petra headed for Kitty's favourite section of the mall.  
  
However, there was a slight problem, because of a diversion on the way.  
  
There was a large group of young men, all from Bayville High, standing between Kitty, Petra and their destination.  
  
Kitty looked at the blockade. "I could just phase us through."  
  
Petra laughed. "And where would the fun in that be? No, better this way. Watch, young one, to what the master does."  
  
Petra walked straight for the group, ignoring Kitty's pleas for her to come back. She tapped one of the young men on the shoulder. "Excuse me," she said in a very sweet voice, quite unlike her usual 'I'm-better-than-all-of- you-so-get-on-the-ground-and-worship-me-like-the-goddess-I-am' tone. "Do you think you and your friends could perhaps make little path for me? I really would like to get through."  
  
While this was going on, Pietro zoomed up to Kitty. "What is she doing?"  
  
Kitty shrugged her shoulders. "No idea."  
  
One of the young men turned around. He grinned when he saw the scantily clad young woman standing in front of him. "Why should I move?" he asked.  
  
"I thought you were a gentlemen," replied Petra. "Looks like I was wrong."  
  
"I never said I would move," said the guy. "You've just first got to tell me your name."  
  
Pietro smacked a hand to his forehead. "Here we go again."  
  
"Hey, at least it's not you she's hitting on. Or you, hitting on her."  
  
"You tell me your name, first," insisted Petra.  
  
"Duncan Matthews."  
  
"Nice to meet you, Duncan. I'm Petra," she replied with a smile.  
  
"No last name?"  
  
"That's all a guy like you needs to know. For now, anyway." Petra turned around to face Kitty and Pietro. "Hey! You can come now!" she called.  
  
"You know those mutant freaks?" asked another guy.  
  
Petra smiled. "Yeah. I am a mutant, too."  
  
"What's your power?"  
  
"I can move at extreme speeds." Petra grinned. "I like to live life hard and fast."  
  
Duncan did not say anything.  
  
"Ah, well, if you are going to be like that, I'll just be on my way," said Petra. She blew the boys a kiss, then walked over to Kitty and Pietro.  
  
"What was with that?" asked Kitty.  
  
Petra shrugged her shoulders. "They're boys. They are so easy to manipulate," she added, smiling at Pietro, who was quietly fuming, still not forgiving Petra for the whole 'can't you run in heels?' incident.  
  
"Never mind," said Kitty. "Pietro? Have you seen the others around?"  
  
"I saw Daniels and - Daniels down at the skate shop."  
  
"See, now we are going to have to do something abut that," said Kitty. "You can call Evan by his surname, but can you please call Eva by her name?"  
  
"We can do that," said Petra, speaking for both her and her twin. "Not that I like it." Then she brightened. "Shall we go find Daniels and Eva?"  
  
Pietro grinned. "Let's go." 


	7. Quiksilver and Mercuria Crises

Queen of Random: Sorry if this chapter is a little short. I just had to put up the next bit of chaos up before my mother catches me and. . . too late! I'm studying, Mum!  
  
That was close. Pity I am not Petra and can just run away, or study at a million miles an hour. Hey, that gives me an idea. . .  
  
Role Reversal  
  
Chapter Seven: Quiksilver and Mercuria Crises  
  
Evan buried his head in his hands when he saw what Eva wanted to buy. "Please tell me that you don't want that!"  
  
Eva looked confused. "What's wrong with this sweatshirt?"  
  
"You see, it's just -" he began, but a voice cut him off. Actually, it was two voices, working together to make him miserable.  
  
"Daniels!"  
  
Evan turned to see Pietro, Petra and Kitty all enter the skate shop. "What do you want, Maximoffs?" he demanded, annoyed.  
  
"We just wanted to see our favourite skateboarders," replied Petra. "Is there something wrong with that?"  
  
"Sorry," added Kitty.  
  
"Kitty!" said Eva. "Can you tell the 'Spyke-Man' that there is nothing wrong with these clothes?!"  
  
Petra and Pietro looked at the closes, and simultaneously burst out laughing.  
  
"What? What is it?"  
  
Pietro managed to stop laughing to reply, "They're Quiksilver clothes!"  
  
"Oh! Evan, I changed my mind. I don't want these clothes any more," said Eva. "I'll take the ones that I was going to get before I saw these clothes. I don't like this brand any more."  
  
As Evan and Eva went to pay for Eva's new things, Petra and Pietro, followed by Kitty, who was shaking her head with annoyance, staggered out the door, struggling to breathe as they were laughing so much.  
  
*  
  
"I think that we have got everything that Grey and I need, Scott," said Scarlett. "Thank you for doing this. And the same goes to you, too, Jean. This would have been a lot more difficult without you."  
  
"Don't worry about it," replied Scott. "When you're with the X-Men, you're never alone."  
  
"Where have I heard that before?" said Grey dryly.  
  
"Anyway," said Jean, "I think that we should go find the others, don't you think?"  
  
"Didn't we agree that we would all meet at the food court?"  
  
"That was Kurt and Katrin's idea," answered Scott.  
  
"Why am I not surprised?"  
  
"Summers! And Summers!" called two voices. Lana, Lance, Freddy and Fredericka all walked up to the foursome after coming out of a speciality clothing shop.  
  
"We're finished," said Lance.  
  
"Good. Then we just need to meet up with the others at the food court." Scott looked at his watch. "The others should be finished about now, too."  
  
"That's good," replied Lana. She looked around. "Kitty and Pietro are over there," she said, pointing in that direction, "but where is Petra? I thought she was with Kitty."  
  
"And wasn't Carter supposed to be with Pietro?"  
  
Just in time to answer the question, Pietro and Kitty approached the group. "I left Carter with the Germans," said Pietro.  
  
"But where's Petra?"  
  
Kitty frowned, hearing something. "Here she comes now."  
  
Petra slowed down her running, and ran around the group. "Sorry, guys. Gotta run!"  
  
With that, the girl took off.  
  
"What was that all about?" asked Freddy, scratching his head. He looked at his Doppelganger, who just shrugged her massive shoulders.  
  
"I think I know," replied Lana. "Look!"  
  
Everyone looked in the direction Lana was. Running after Petra was the same group of teenage boys Petra had been talking to earlier, plus a few new additions. Duncan was still at its head.  
  
"Come on!" yelled a voice. "We've got to find her!"  
  
"It shouldn't be that hard!" called another voice in the mob - which, the group was - "I mean, how many white-haired babes in a mini skirt are there around?"  
  
"Yeah!"  
  
The mob took off along the same path Petra had been taking, and after a few seconds they were out of sight.  
  
"Now that was weird," commented Jean, after about a minute or two of stunned silence.  
  
"Even by our standards," added Scarlett.  
  
"It's Petra," reminded Lana. "What did you expect? And don't you say anything, Pietro!"  
  
Pietro shut his mouth.  
  
"Like, what's the time?" asked Kitty.  
  
"Time for us to meet at the food court," replied Scott. "Come on."  
  
As the group started to walk away, a tired, and very old male voice came from behind them. "Excuse me."  
  
The mutants all turned around, to find an old man, perhaps in his eighties, standing there. He seemed to be out of breath, but he continued to speak. "By any chance, have you seen a young lady go running past? She has white hair, just like that boy there. Is she your sister?" he asked Pietro.  
  
"Yes," interrupted Lance, before Pietro could speak. "What do you want with Petra? His sister," he added, for the old man's benefit.  
  
"That young lady still owes me a kiss."  
  
The teens started laughing, but that man was not too impressed. "I'll be on my way, then."  
  
As the old man started to walk slowly away, his cane making slow, but regular taps on the polished floor, he could be heard muttering, "Young whippersnappers. No respect for the elderly! And always in a hurry, too!" 


	8. Touch of a Rogue

Queen of Random: Woohoo! No more exams! And very little school, too! That means I have a lot of time to just write, and write, and write. . . not just fanfiction, either. I've just ressurected a few of my novel ideas, which I have had in the works for several years. Don't woryy, faithful readers! I will still be writing these stories! Oh, and thank you to those of you who have been making suggestions, they have been taken on board, and you may see them later on. Now, where did I put that baby name book?  
  
Role Reversal  
  
Chapter Eight: Touch of a Rogue  
  
Carter looked at Katrin and Kurt with a look of disgust on his face. "How can you two even eat those?" he asked, as the two German mutants devoured another two burgers.  
  
"What?" asked Katrin, "Is this bothering you?"  
  
"Yes!" replied Carter, indignant. "You know I'm a vegetarian!"  
  
"So is Kitty," remarked Kurt, somehow managing to get the words around the half burger that was in his mouth.  
  
"Oh. Now that's just disgusting."  
  
"Well, you could always go and find the others," suggested Katrin. She looked at Carter, a wicked grin on her face. "I'm sure Lana would like to see you."  
  
"Knock it off!" Carter looked around the food court. "Where are the others?" he asked, impatient.  
  
Kurt shrugged his shoulders, and took another bite of his burger. "Don't know," he said, this time swallowing before speaking.  
  
"Hey!" said Katrin. "There's Roué and Rogue!" She pointed to one end of the food court, where the two teenagers seemed to be painfully out of place amongst the other teenagers.  
  
Roué seemed to be the first of the two to notice the trio sitting at a table in the middle of the food court. He nudged Rogue, and she smiled when she saw the group of teenagers waiting for them.  
  
"So," asked Katrin when Rogue and Roué had pulled up chairs and joined the group. "What did you get?" She gestured to the bag that Roué had been carrying.  
  
"Not much," replied Roué. "Just the basics."  
  
"Ja," said Katrin to Kurt, in German. "Ich denke, daß das Kleider schwarz sind."  
  
"What did she say?" asked Carter. "We don't speak German."  
  
Kurt and Katrin both laughed, and Kurt said, "She said, 'I think that the clothes are black'."  
  
"Oh," said Carter. "You're probably right," he added, laughing. He looked around, then phased a hand through the shopping bag, and pulled out a black jacket. "Looks like you're right, Katrin."  
  
"Put that back!" said Rogue, grabbing for the jacket at the same time that Roué did. Both were distracted, and so did not notice that their sleeves rode up as they reached out, leaving a patch of bare skin on their arms, which came into contact with each other.  
  
All the teenagers drew in their breath, and Rogue and Roué snatched their arms back.  
  
Then they all realised something.  
  
"Hey! You two can touch each other!"  
  
Rogue and Roué stared at each other blankly.  
  
"Hey!" repeated Carter. "You two can touch each other!"  
  
Rogue immediately took off one of her gloves, and held out her hand. Roué followed suit, and took Rogue's bare hand with his own. "We can touch each other!" he said, shocked. Rogue laughed, and so did Roué.  
  
"Well, it's nice to know that something good has come of this," remarked Katrin.  
  
"Ja."  
  
"Now if only you two could stop eating those burgers!"  
  
*  
  
"I never thought I would say this," remarked Tonya, "but I stink."  
  
"And what's wrong with that, yo?"  
  
"Nothing," said Ward. "Nothing at all."  
  
"Hey!" replied Todd, indignant. "I find that offensive, yo!"  
  
"Can we just leave?" asked Wanda, annoyed. She was not happy about two Todds hanging around, even if one was female, and clean. She was also very upset about that fact that her Doppelganger was dating Todd's Doppelganger.  
  
"As you wish, snookums," said Todd, looking around the shop, where the four mutant teens had finished buying the last of Tonya's clothes. They had bought Ward's clothes earlier in the day.  
  
"Let's go, yo," said Tonya, noticing the anger that was building up in Wanda's eyes. Although she had the ability to quell the same anger in Ward's, it did not mean she could do the same for his Doppelganger.  
  
"Fine," said Wanda, before stalking out of the clothing shop.  
  
"Wait for me, cuddlebumps!"  
  
*  
  
"Wow," Pietro, a look of awe on his face. "Look at those two go."  
  
"Almost as fast as you, huh?"  
  
"No way!" retorted Pietro. "They could never keep up with me, no matter how fast they can eat."  
  
What Pietro and all the other teenagers, minus Petra, who had last been seen about twenty minutes beforehand (and only by Pietro, who was the only one capable of noticing her), still running away from the group of teenage guys, (although, she had managed to tell Pietro that she would be losing them pretty soon, and had mentioned something about a river), were watching was Freddy and Fredericka. Like Kurt and Katrin, they were at home in the food court, and were eating enough food to feed a small country.  
  
Freddy let out a belch. "Top that," he challenged his Doppelganger.  
  
Fredericka smiled, and let out an even louder one. "Done."  
  
"Okay," said Lana. "Now that we have finished that - display, let's get going."  
  
"But what about Petra?"  
  
"She can make it back to the Institute on her own," said Scott.  
  
"Let's just worry about ourselves until then," finished Scarlett.  
  
"Now that's just wrong," whispered Todd to Tonya.  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"I know we are supposed to be each other, yo, but that is just scary."  
  
"Scarier than soap?" asked Katrin, dropping the hated cleaning product in Todd's lap.  
  
"Ahh!" Todd let out his girly scream, which got a few odd looks from the Doppelgangers.  
  
"Hey!" said Katrin. "He sounded just like Tonya!"  
  
"What do you mean, yo? He did not sound just like me!"  
  
"Really?" asked Pietro, and before Tonya could react, he had stomped on her foot. Tonya opened her mouth, and let out the same scream Todd had done moments before.  
  
"See, same scream," said Katrin.  
  
Tonya and Todd, obviously upset with what had just happened - Todd, for having his masculinity question, and Tonya, because Pietro had stepped on her foot - both let their tongues loose onto the world, grabbed the half- full cola cups that were on the table, and Tonya launched one cup at Katrin. Todd, following suit, launched his at Kurt.  
  
"Ach, nein!" shouted the two German mutants in unison. "Now we're all wet!"  
  
"Well, that's what you get for making fun of people," reprimanded Scarlett.  
  
"Oh, shut up!"  
  
Katrin looked down at herself. "This is going to take ages to dry. And I'm gonna be all sticky, too."  
  
"Well," replied Kurt, "at least our holowatches are still functioning."  
  
"Good point."  
  
"Pity the images aren't that great," came Petra's voice from behind the group.  
  
"Finally got rid of them?" asked Pietro.  
  
"Sure did," came the reply. "Made just like the Pied Piperess of Hamlin, and dropped them all in a river. They all look a lot like these two, actually."  
  
"Well, now that you're back," said Lana, annoyed, "let's all get going. You've caused enough problems as it is, Petra."  
  
"Fine! You slowpokes can just catch up to me!" With that, Petra ran off around the corner.  
  
Everyone winced as the sound of a collision echoed from around that very corner.  
  
"Come on," said Scott wearily. "Let's go get her."  
  
Everyone ran around the corner to find Petra sitting on the ground, yelling furiously (and at a rate only Pietro could comprehend) at a set of girl quintuplets, about the age of twelve.  
  
The jaws of all the X-Women dropped as they recognised the girls.  
  
"Jaimee?!" 


	9. Trouble, Multiplied

Queen of Random: Whew! Another chapter done! And it's longer than usual! That's surprising, as I have been buy working on my other works as well. Sometimes I wish I was like Jamie, and could make more of myself. That way, I could have one multiple work on 'Beauty and the Beast', another on 'Trial by Fire', a third on 'Role Reversal' and others on all of my other work. Oh, and one to clean my room for me while I watch television. Although recently I have been wondering if I don't just watch television just for the sake of it. I thought about this because, for no apparent reason, I found myself watching "Barbie of Swan Lake'. Dunno why, as I don't like Barbie. At all. Although I did like looking at the list of all the people who provided the voices. Kelly Sheridan (Scarlet Witch) was Barbie, and Mark Hildreth (Angel) was Prince Daniel. Plus there was Kelsey Grammar, and I think the woman who was Janice on 'Friends'. He he. The voice of Barbie is the voice of Wanda, the Scarlet Witch!  
  
I really like looking at all the voice actors, and their other appearances, especially those at the Ocean Group, who do the voices for both X-Men: Evolution and Gundam Wing (another of my favourite shows, but not my favourite. That spot is reserved for X-Men: Evolution!). Except now I keep getting images of the gang from X-Men: Evolution doing things like the characters from Gundam Wing. For example, I have the mental image of Kurt (Brad Swaile) in Quatre's pink shirt, and Scott (Kirby Morrow) in Trowa's clown costume. Then I have a picture of Logan (Scott McNeil) in black stirrup pants and with a priest's collar, like Duo, and Angel (Mark Hildreth) in Heero's black spandex shorts and green singlet top. Then there is Callisto (Saffron Henderson) in Noin's OZ uniform, and Kitty (Maggie Blue O'Hara) dressed in Mariemeia's uniform. But I think the worst image is Professor Xavier (David Kaye) in the bathtub, like Treize! See, in Gundam Wing it was cool when Treize did it, but when it is Xavier. . . ew. Not that I don't like Xavier or anything, but still. . . ew.  
  
Perhaps I should just get on with the next chapter. Yes, that's a good idea.  
  
Role Reversal  
  
Chapter Nine: Trouble, Multiplied  
  
At the sound of Scarlett's voice, the quintuplets looked up. "What happened? Why is she yelling at me, Carter?" asked one of the girls.  
  
Noticing the way that the Jaimee spoke first to Carter, and the look in her eyes, Rogue couldn't help but laugh. It seemed that things were not so different in the world of the X-Women and the Sisterhood, if Jamie's double had a crush on Kitty's.  
  
Kitty silenced Rogue's laughter with a glance. Turning to Carter, she asked, "This is Jamie's Doppelganger? Multiple?"  
  
Carter nodded. "Yes. This is Jaimee. Also known as Multigirl."  
  
"Where am I?" asked another of the Jaimees.  
  
"Who wants to explain?" asked Scarlett tiredly.  
  
"I will," replied Grey. "But first, Jaimee, I think you should pull yourself together."  
  
The Jaimees nodded their heads in unison. "All right." The girls did just that, and soon there was only one Jaimee standing in front of the group. "So, what happened?" she asked.  
  
"Well," began Grey. "To cut a long story short, Form transported us from another dimension. In this dimension we are of the opposite sex."  
  
Jaimee giggled. "He he. You said sex."  
  
"Now is not the time, Jaimee," interrupted Scarlett.  
  
"Yes," agreed Grey. "Anyway, we are not the only ones who have been transported. At first, we thought it was just the X-Women and the Sisterhood who were affected, but now that you are here. . ." Grey's voice trailed off.  
  
"Who else is here?" asked Roué. "Have you seen any of the other students around?"  
  
Jaimee nodded. "Yeah. I saw the others. They were out in the parking lot a few minutes ago. They saw the X-Van, and decided to wait by it."  
  
"All of them?" asked Carter.  
  
Jaimee nodded again. "They made me come in here and get them some soda. Then she ran into me." She pointed at Petra, who poked her tongue out in response.  
  
"It seems that our original plan to meet go to the Institute will still happen," said Jean.  
  
Scott nodded, thinking. "But how will we get Jaimee and the other new students back there?"  
  
"I say we call the Prof."  
  
"Good idea, Kurt. Why don't you and Katrin go and find the nearest phone and call him?"  
  
"Sure," replied Katrin. She was about to teleport when Roué stopped her by grabbing her arm. He had regloved his hands, as had Rogue, not long after the two of them had discovered that could touch each other.  
  
"I wouldn't recommend you do that," he said.  
  
Katrin looked embarrassed. "Whoops. Sorry." She looked at Kurt. "Come on, fuzzy dude! Let's go!" And the two of them took off at a run.  
  
"All right, you lot," said Lana. "Let's get going." As the others began walking off, she sidled up to Lance and whispered, "This is going to be a long night."  
  
Lance tried to laugh it off. "Yeah, but think of it this way. It's the two of us, together with the Prydes."  
  
At the thought of what could happen, Lana seemed to brighten. "You have a plan?" she asked eagerly.  
  
Lance nodded. "Yeah. Now here's what we're gonna do."  
  
He began whispering his plan to his Doppelganger, who listened intently to what he had to say.  
  
*  
  
A teenage girl with long brown hair leaned against the X-Van, idly making ice figurines in her hands. Hearing a small explosion come from the other side of the van, she crushed the small dog made of ice, and looked annoyed. "Tibal!" she called. "Stop that! Doctor Xavier won't like it if you damage the X-Van."  
  
A blonde boy poked his head around the corner of the van. "Oh, knock it off, Bobbi. I didn't do nothing to the van. And, anyway, it's not like I'm taking it for a midnight joyride, now, is it?"  
  
The girl, who had just been identified as Bobbi - and was obviously Bobby's Doppelganger - groaned. "Knock it off! We just have to wait here for the X- Women, so they can take us back to the Institute." Bobbi looked around. "Where are Samantha and Roberta?"  
  
The boy, Tibal, shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. Maybe they went off to find Rachel."  
  
"Oh, okay. Amarus?" called Bobbi. When no answer came, Bobbi turned to Tibal. "Tibby," she said, her voice filled with annoyance, "where's Amarus?"  
  
"Dunno."  
  
"Oh, this is just great," complained Bobbi. "We don't know where the X- Women are, we are in a strange place because of that flash of light, and we have been separated from the rest of our team!"  
  
"Oh, calm down, Bobbi," laughed Tibal. "Actually, since you are already cool, you should worry about getting a little hot under the collar. We wouldn't want you melting, now, would we, Icewoman?"  
  
"Ha ha ha," said Bobbi sarcastically. "Why don't you go and blow something up, Dynamite?"  
  
"If you insist." Tibal scanned the parking lot, and spotted something in the distance. "Look!" she ordered Bobbi. "There are the others!"  
  
"Where?"  
  
Tibal pointed to the end of the row of cars. There, walking up to the X- Van, was three girls - a blonde, a girl with very strange reddish-blonde hair, and a girl with darker skin than her companions, with dark hair - and a boy - also with dark hair and skin.  
  
"Hey," said the blonde girl.  
  
"Hey, Samantha," replied Tibal. He then turned to the others. "Have you guys seen Jaimee? She was supposed to be bringing our sodas."  
  
The others shrugged their shoulders. "Haven't seen her. Sorry."  
  
"Well," said Bobbi, "I suppose we should just wait."  
  
*  
  
Kurt and Katrin were reunited with the rest of the group at the mall's exit.  
  
"Did you call the Professor?" asked Scott.  
  
Katrin nodded. "Yeah. We told him about Jaimee."  
  
"And?" asked Grey.  
  
"And he wasn't too pleased," replied Kurt. "Neither was Logan and Lois."  
  
"That's just great," muttered Evan.  
  
"All right," said Scarlett, trying to stop this from escalating into something really bad. "Let's just get back to our vehicles, and back to the Institute."  
  
"All right," replied Eva, still not too happy about being with Petra and Pietro.  
  
*  
  
"There they are!" shouted Jaimee, running in front of the group. "Hey, guys! Look who I found!"  
  
The group of teens waiting by the X-Van looked up to see the X-Men, the X- Women, the Brotherhood, the Sisterhood, and Jaimee all running towards them.  
  
Now this was a very large group of people, mind you.  
  
"Ah!"  
  
"Look at all of them!"  
  
"Don't worry," said Scarlett. "It's just us, and our Doppelgangers."  
  
The younger mutants looked at them blankly. "Doppelgangers?"  
  
"Do we have to explain it again?" whined Todd.  
  
"It's not like you're doing any of the explaining," retorted Wanda.  
  
Tonya opened her mouth to speak, but closed it before saying anything.  
  
"I'm only going to say this once," said Grey, "so listen carefully."  
  
There were a couple of snorts and muffled laughs from the group, but Grey ignored them.  
  
"We've all been transported from our dimension to another dimension because of an accident with one of Form's inventions. There's just one difference between our dimension and this one. In this dimension -" here Grey hesitated, looking at Jaimee "- we are of the opposite gender. Basically, if you are a boy in our dimension, you are a girl in this one, and vice versa."  
  
"So, then," asked Bobbi, "which one are you? Who's your twin?"  
  
Grey pointed out to the newcomers Jean. "This is my Doppelganger. Her name is Jean Grey."  
  
Tibal and Bobbi laughed. "But that's your name, Jean."  
  
"I know, but in this dimension, call me Grey. It's less confusing that way."  
  
"Grey?" asked Lance. "Who do we have here?"  
  
"Good point," said Kitty. "We need to know their names."  
  
Scarlett nodded. "All right, then." She turned to the new group. "Introduce yourselves. Full name, and then codename."  
  
Tibal went first. "Tibal Smith. Dynamite."  
  
"Tabitha," Lance muttered to the Brotherhood.  
  
"Rachel Crisp," said the girl with the very strange reddish-blonde hair. "Shockwave."  
  
"Ray," whispered Kurt to no one in particular.  
  
The blonde girl went third. "Samantha Guthrie. Impacter."  
  
"Sam."  
  
"Roberta DaCosta," said the next girl with a grin. "Solarflare."  
  
"Roberto," said Evan.  
  
Then went the other of the boys. "Amarus Aquilla. Volcanus."  
  
"Amara," murmured Kitty.  
  
Then it was Bobbi's turn to introduce herself. "Bobbi Duck. Icewoman."  
  
The mention of Bobbi's surname caused more than a few eyebrows to be raised. "Duck?" asked Kurt. "But Bobby's surname is Drake."  
  
"But a drake is a male duck," interrupted Lance. "Makes sense that his Doppelganger's name would have a female equivalent."  
  
"Good point," replied Pietro.  
  
"Duck? Drake?" asked Freddy.  
  
"Are we going to have that for dinner?" added Fredericka.  
  
Ward and Wanda both looked annoyed. "Idiots."  
  
Scott and Scarlett shook their heads simultaneously. Then, when they realised what they were doing, they stopped - simultaneously.  
  
"I guess when you are someone, you can't not be different from them."  
  
"Let's just get back to the Institute," said Scott wearily.  
  
"Er, Scott?" asked Jean. "This is going to take a few return trips." 


	10. A Plan in Motion

Queen of Random: Okay, as we now have a few more Doppelgangers, I'm gonna have to go through the whole names thing again.  
  
Tabitha Smith / Boom Boom is also Tibal Smith / Dynamite  
  
Amara Aquilla / Magma is also Amarus Aquilla / Volcanus  
  
Jamie Maddrox / Multiple is also Jaimee Maddrox / Multigirl  
  
Roberto DaCosta / Sunspot is also Roberta DaCosta / Solarflare  
  
Sam Guthrie / Cannonball is also Samantha Guthrie / Impacter  
  
Ray Crisp / Berzerker is also Rachel Crisp / Shockwave  
  
and finally, Bobby Drake / Iceman is also Bobbi Duck / Icewoman.  
  
Okay, now that that is over and done with, I can finally say what I was going to say. I finally saw that episode of 'Red Dwarf' everyone's been talking about since I started this story. And, to clarify, I had not seen it, or any other episode of 'Red Dwarf' prior to writing this story. Thank you to the reviewer(s) who informed me of the whole 'Red Dwarf' thing. The episode was actually quite funny, and now I get what people had been writing about in their reviews about the guys ending up pregnant. I was starting to get a bit worried there! But, I think I should assuage your fears about that, and explain something about this parallel world.  
  
The parallel world that the X-Women, and the Sisterhood come from is basically just like ours (by ours I am referring to the world of the X-Men that we are all familiar with), except that in that dimension women are, and always have been, the dominate sex. Yep, just like on 'Red Dwarf', they have 'masculinists'. But unlike 'Red Dwarf', the biology of the genders remain the same as they are in our world. Therefore, the women still have the babies. But in their reality, maternity leave is much longer, and when the women do return to the workforce, the fathers raise the children at home. In the past, it was the women who went out into battle, and the men who waited patiently at home. The only men who did fight were quite rare, except for the group of warriors of ancient times - the equivalent to our Amazons of mythology. I can't really think of what name the male tribe would have had, as the word 'Amazon' is derived from the Greek word meaning 'breastless', and I don't speak Greek - not yet, anyway. A little bit of Latin, yes, but not Greek. Talk to me again once I leave university, and it might be different.  
  
By the way, I am a Lancitty shipper, which may clear a few things up for some readers. I am also an Amyro ('Trial by Fire' readers should get that) and Romy shipper, too. Oh, and anything to do with Hank and Jennifer. But what would that be? Bennifer? No, that's taken. Hannifer? Jank? Jeast? Actually, they all sound kinda stupid. Never mind.  
  
Role Reversal  
  
Chapter Ten: A Plan in Motion  
  
Ororo was the adult waiting for them when the last of the Doppelgangers arrived back at the Institute. It was also the first time that X-Men and the Brotherhood got to meet her Doppelganger. His name was Orion, and his identifying features were very much like Ororo's: he had white hair, dark skin, and blue eyes. He was also quite tall, and had the same aura of serenity and calm around him.  
  
The first thing he said to all the students was, "Find the newer students. We will need them here, and they deserve to know what is going on."  
  
Ororo nodded in agreement. "Find Bobby, Tabitha, Roberto, Amara, Sam, Ray and Jamie."  
  
"Where are they?"  
  
"In their rooms."  
  
"I'll get them," volunteered Kurt. Ororo nodded, and in a puff of smoke he was gone.  
  
*  
  
Bobby, Tabitha, Roberto, Amara, Sam, Ray and Jamie all just stared at the group of Doppelgangers that had been brought back from the mall. They had been able to understand that the X-Men and the Brotherhood had their own, but they had never really contemplated the idea that they might have them as well. In fact, the idea seemed to be a little hard for them to digest.  
  
"Bobby, this is your Doppelganger. Her name is Bobbi Duck, and her codename is Icewoman."  
  
Bobby finally spoke. "Her name is Bobby?"  
  
"It's spelt B-O-B-B-I," explained Bobbi. "It's got an 'i' on the end of it."  
  
"But what's with the whole 'duck' thing?"  
  
"Let's not get into that right now," interrupted Jean hastily. "Let's just keep going with the introductions." She turned and was about to introduce Tibal to Tabitha, but found that the two of them were engrossed in conversation. She looked around, and found that all the pairs were talking, and getting along quite well. It was only Bobby who was a little shell- shocked.  
  
"That does not look good," Lana whispered to Lance.  
  
Lance looked at what was causing Lana so much concern. Tabitha and Tibal were deep in conversation, and Lance could catch snatches of conversation, and words such as, "Principal Kelly," and, "car," and, "explosion," and most worrying of all, "bada-bing-bada-boom."  
  
"How bad was it when she lived with you?" asked Lana.  
  
"You don't want to know," Lance replied.  
  
"I might already know," Lana said with a grimace, looking at Tibal.  
  
Lance clapped Lana on the back. "Hey. Don't worry. We've got our own little plan."  
  
He and his Doppelganger turned to look at Kitty, and her Doppelganger. Then they looked at each other again, and smiled.  
  
It was almost time to put their plan in motion.  
  
*  
  
About an hour after the arrival of the new set of Doppelgangers, a situation of sorts came about.  
  
"It's going to be getting dark soon," said Kitty. "What are they," here she pointed to the Doppelgangers, "going to do tonight?"  
  
"What do you mean, Kitty?" asked Xavier.  
  
"Well, it's just that there is not enough room in the Brotherhood's house for the Sisterhood to stay in. And where are the X-Women going to stay?"  
  
"She has a point there," said Lois. "Any ideas?"  
  
"What would you do, Charlotte?" asked Xavier, turning to his Doppelganger.  
  
"I would have them all stay here," Charlotte replied. "We cannot risk having them all over Bayville if an emergency arises. But, as this is your home, and not mine, it is up to you."  
  
"That is just what I was thinking." Xavier turned back from Charlotte and faced the teens. "You are all welcome to stay here - X-Women, Sisterhood, and Brotherhood included."  
  
"Even us?" asked Todd.  
  
Xavier nodded. "Yes. If you want to, that is."  
  
Tonya spoke this time around. "That's cool, yo."  
  
"Why don't you show our guests to the guest rooms?" suggested Ororo. "That should keep you all busy for a while, and I'm sure that you could all use a place to put your things."  
  
There were murmurs of agreement coming from all the teenagers.  
  
"Come on, Katrin. Let's find Forge and Form."  
  
"You coming, Bobbi? Oh, and I guess you two can come along as well."  
  
Petra was the only one who showed any real signs of annoyance at this idea. "Well, Lana, I suppose you don't need anyone to show you around here, as you probably still know your way around from when you were one of them, right?"  
  
Lana tugged on her jacket, but said nothing. Lance did the same thing.  
  
"Ignore her," said Kitty firmly. "I'll show you two to your rooms." Not looking at Petra, she grabbed Lance's hand and began leading him away. Lana, trying not to smile, and Carter, followed behind the two.  
  
* Lana was lying on the bed in the room she had been assigned to, staring at the ceiling. Lance was in the room on her left, with Carter, in turn, on Lance's left. Petra's room was on her right, and Pietro's right across the hall from Petra's.  
  
Lana did not look up at the sound of knocking on the closed door. "Come in."  
  
The door did not open: Kitty phased through it instead. "Is everything okay?" she asked.  
  
Lana sat up, and swung her legs off the bed. "Yeah. Something wrong?"  
  
Kitty blushed. "No. It's just. . ." Kitty stopped there.  
  
Lana smiled slightly. "It's all a bit weird?"  
  
Kitty had to smile. "Weird is an understatement. I just wanted to ask you something."  
  
"Go ahead. Ask." Lana shifted to the end of the bed. "You don't have to stand by the door you know. You can sit down. I don't bite." She grinned. "Fredericka on the other hand. . ."  
  
Sill not at ease with this female Lance, Kitty did not move. But she wanted to know. "What happened?" she asked, a bit nervously.  
  
Lana laughed, before beginning the story. "Well, one time she had fallen asleep in front of the T.V., and I tried to wake her up by shaking her. When that didn't work, I went to hit her on the nose. Only a light tap," Lana added hastily, noticing the worried look on Kitty's face. "Anyway, she must have been dreaming about food, 'cause when I hit her, she bit me. While still asleep."  
  
Kitty giggled. "Serves you right." She moved, and sat down on the bed next to Lana.  
  
"Yeah, but the thing is, she doesn't remember it ever happening. What was it you wanted to ask me?"  
  
"Um," Kitty hesitated. "Well, Petra said that you joined the X-Women, right? I just wanted to know. . ."  
  
Lana finished the question for her. "Why?" She was silent for a moment, then replied quietly. "Probably for the same reason Lance did." Then she corrected herself. "Maybe not the exact same reason as Lance did, but close enough."  
  
Kitty did not say anything, so Lana said it for her.  
  
"I switched sides for Carter. And Lance switched sides for you."  
  
"Oh," Kitty replied quietly. She seemed to be lost for words because of this revelation.  
  
"Scarlett knew from the beginning that I wanted something, but she didn't know what," continued Lana, ignoring Kitty's silence. "Doctor X on the other hand figured it out straight away. She knew that what I wanted was to be near Carter. Of course, there were a few other things that pushed me over the edge."  
  
"Like what?" Kitty seemed to have recovered slightly.  
  
"Well, there was Tibal moving into the house, the other girls just being a pain, and with Mystery gone. . ."  
  
"Mystery?" asked Kitty, curious. "Is he, like, Katrin's father?"  
  
Lana nodded. "Now that I think about it, yeah. What is he like here?"  
  
"Well, her name's Mystique, and she's not a very nice person. She blew up the Institute not too long ago."  
  
"Mystery did that, too. But now that he's gone again, and now that Petra's leader of the Sisterhood. . . things are not the way they used to be." Lana stopped suddenly, and said, "Look, Kitty, there's something I've been wanting to tell you. Well, Carter, actually, but I can't."  
  
"What is it?"  
  
Lana swallowed, and for a moment Kitty could see a flicker of Lance shine out from behind her eyes. "I want to say I'm sorry. For everything. I've done a lot of stupid things in my time. . . destroying our old school. . . knocking down that scoreboard onto Principal Keller. . . exposing us all as mutants. . . and attacking those parents after we were exposed. . . I just want to say I'm sorry. And you were right to hate me after all I have done. . . all Lance and I have done."  
  
"But I don't hate Lance."  
  
Lana looked up. "You should be telling Lance that, not me. He's the one who'll want to hear it. He likes you - I can tell. He's probably done all the crazy stuff I have done for Carter, but for you. It just. . . it really hurts him when things like that happen. He - I - would not have risked his own life to help you had he not cared. And if he feels half the things for you that I feel for Carter, then you are missing out on something. It's not every guy - or girl, for that matter - who'll be hit by a burning eagle that was falling by pushing a person who can just phase through it out of the way." She grinned wryly, mocking herself slightly. "I'll admit, not my smartest move ever."  
  
Kitty did not agree with Lana, instead, she leapt up off the bed. "Excuse me, but I have something I really have to do." Without waiting for an answer, she raced out through the door.  
  
Lana leaned back on the bed and smiled.  
  
Part one of Lance's plan had worked.  
  
Now it was his time for him to pay back for the favour that she had done for him. 


	11. But wait, there's more!

Queen of Random: Guess who's back, back, back. Back again. Regina's back. . . oh, never mind, it sounds stupid anyway. Anyway, I am back, after a short hiatus (actually, I went on camp, and on holiday, and on top of all that, I lost my Internet privileges) and I have more to 'Role Reversal' to give you. As per usual, I do not own anything, lest of all anything I mention in these stories. Heck, like I can afford to buy anything to do with these things. I'm too busy saving up for a trip to Germany later this year. Argh, and I'm pretty much flat broke, plus anything I do save up will pretty much be cut in half, because the Euro is pretty much worth twice as much as our dollar over here in New Zealand.  
  
Pity I can't sell one of my non-X-Men short stories for some cash. I mean, who'd want to publish my work, anyway?  
  
Role Reversal  
  
Chapter Eleven: But wait, there's more!  
  
"Have you seen Kitty?" asked Hank.  
  
"I was going to say the same thing about Carter," replied Henrietta. "I suppose that, if we asked around, we would find that Lance and Lana would also be missing."  
  
"That's not our main concern at the moment," reminded Xavier. "We need to know how to set everything right."  
  
"How are Forge and Form doing?" asked Charlotte. "Are they any closer to repairing their machines?"  
  
Hank shook his head. "No. But on the bright side, they have given us a conservative estimate as to when they will have their machines repaired."  
  
"And when will that be?"  
  
"Three days from now."  
  
"Three days?!" asked Logan, the annoyance in his voice obvious. "We have to put up with the Brotherhood and the Sisterhood for another three days?!"  
  
"Maybe longer," Henrietta replied with a smile. She did not blink at the extension of claws.  
  
"But what will all of them do until then?" asked Ororo. "Our students have to go to school. What will their Doppelgangers do then?"  
  
"And what about the Brotherhood and Sisterhood going to do?" added Orion.  
  
"I suppose we can let that decision wait until this evening," said Xavier. "Until then, they will just have to occupy themselves."  
  
*  
  
"So, is Robin Williams like this in your world, Katrin?"  
  
"Oh, ja, Kurt. Robyn is really funny."  
  
As Xavier had said, the teens were having to occupy themselves until dinner would be ready - and Logan was already worried about that - and so most of them were all in the recreation room, watching some movies. Kurt had picked the first movie, and had thought it appropriate to pick 'Mrs Doubtfire'. This was a big hit with the teens, and the Doppelgangers especially, who had regaled the others with tales of how Robyn Willaminas was in 'Mr Doubtfire'.  
  
"Well, that was great pick for the movie, Kurt," said Bobbi. "It seems a lot funnier when it is a man dressing up as a woman than the other way around."  
  
"Yeah!" roared Tibal. "What's up next?"  
  
"Um, let's see," said Evan, looking at the shelf that was stacked with videos and DVDs. "We've got 'The Lord of the Rings', um. . . 'Scary Movie' and 'American Pie', the chick flicks, my movie, um. . . 'The Matrix'. . ." He stopped there and grabbed a DVD. "Here's one."  
  
"What have you got, Evan?" asked Eva.  
  
"Well," said Evan, as he put the DVD in the machine, "we've had one about a real gender bender problem, so I thought we should watch one about people coming from other dimensions."  
  
"I know which one this is, yo!" said Tonya. "It's 'The One', with Jess Li, right?"  
  
"You mean, Jet Li, yo."  
  
"Close enough!"  
  
*  
  
"It seems we have a problem," Xavier said quietly to Charlotte once they were alone.  
  
"Yes, she told me about it mentally when he was telling you. She must have been really desperate to seek help from me. They both must have been."  
  
"It doesn't surprise me as much as I thought it would to hear that they also have Doppelgangers," remarked Xavier thoughtfully. "But after the newer students' Doppelgangers showed up, it wasn't such a surprise to hear about the others."  
  
"I suppose we must all be linked," added Charlotte. "After all, we were not there when the machines exploded. Had it just been the X-Women, the X-Men, the Sisterhood, the Brotherhood, along with Form and Forge, then it would appear that only those in direct contact with the blast would have travelled across the dimensions. But it's not."  
  
"I understand. How shall we tell the others?"  
  
"Not now, I think. Let them have their fun."  
  
*  
  
There were some muffled giggles coming from behind a tree as Principal Kelly exited the school.  
  
"At school on a Sunday. How sad."  
  
"Maybe we should cheer him up?"  
  
"I hope he likes our little presents. It would be such a shame if he didn't."  
  
If you haven't guessed by now, the two people speaking here were Tabitha and Tibal. They were carrying out the plan that Lance and Lana had heard them formulating earlier.  
  
And yes, they had placed a little something for Kelly underneath the car.  
  
I must tell you now, that I do not condone such behaviour, but in this case I think we can make an exception.  
  
Kelly does deserve this after all.  
  
So let me continue with this little escapade of our two demolition experts (and no, I am not talking about Lance and Lana!).  
  
Principal Kelly was totally unaware as to what was going to happen as he loaded the back seat of his modest car (which was quite old, unlike that of the previous principal's. . . whoops, off topic people. Sorry!) when he heard a noise.  
  
He quickly straightened, and looked around. "Who's there?" he demanded.  
  
Tabitha and Tibal held their breaths and tried not to make a sound that might give them away.  
  
They were fortunate, as the only sound that could be heard was the chattering of the squirrel in the tree they were hiding behind.  
  
"Only a squirrel," said Kelly, and went back to what he had been doing.  
  
Luckily for Kelly, (or perhaps, unluckily) he turned around to get something that he had dropped on the ground while placing stuff in the back seat.  
  
That was when Tabitha and Tibal chose to strike.  
  
The explosives that had been waiting underneath the car went off, sending the car at least half a metre into the air, before crashing back down to earth, smoking ever so slightly.  
  
Kelly leapt out of the way just in time - although Tabitha and Tibal would later swear that he had been launched at least three metres by the force of the explosions.  
  
Unfortunately, the tree hiding Tabitha and Tibal happened to be hiding behind was in the way of his flight path. There was a crash, and Tabitha and Tibal winced at the sound.  
  
They decided to take off before Kelly was completely recovered from his daze.  
  
Luckily a distraction was provided for them by the squirrel, who was kind enough to drop an acorn on Kelly's head.  
  
*  
  
"Oh, man, did you see him go flying? It looked like it was about four metres!" (It's just like the fish that 'got away' - it grows bigger with each passing minute!)  
  
"Nice to see you two are back."  
  
Tabitha and Tibal froze at the sound of the voice.  
  
"Turn around."  
  
Slowly, they turned around. "Storm. Hurricane. Hi."  
  
"And where have you two been?" asked Ororo.  
  
"Out," said Tabitha.  
  
"Yeah, out," agreed Tibal.  
  
"Well, it's good that you are back, as Professor X and Doctor X want to speak to everyone, and they did not want to do that until everyone was available."  
  
"Come," added Orion. "Everyone is in the dining room, waiting for you."  
  
*  
  
The dining room was the only place in the mansion that seemed to be able to accommodate everyone who was there: X-Men and X-Women, Brotherhood and Sisterhood, newer students, and teachers. All up there were forty-six people there, and so not all of them were seated.  
  
But they were all there, waiting to hear what Professor X and Doctor X had to say.  
  
There was silence for a moment, and Xavier and Charlotte did not say a word.  
  
"Can you just hurry up and say it?" demanded Petra after about thirty seconds.  
  
"Dummkopf," muttered Katrin.  
  
Petra snapped her head around and glared at Katrin. "Don't call me that fuzzball! If anything, du bist ein Dummkopf!"  
  
"All right, calm down!" ordered Scarlett, coming between the two. Then she looked at Petra curiously. "Since when can you speak German?"  
  
"My speed is not just limited to moving," Petra replied, scowling. "And when you can read as fast as I do, you'll read just about anything when you're bored. I've read about seventeen German dictionaries and grammar books, then the entire works of Johanna Goethe."  
  
"People!" interrupted Hank. "As fascinating as this conversation is, we have something more pressing to deal with, so can we please-" Hank was suddenly interrupted by the sound of something - no, somethings - large swooping down over the mansion from high above.  
  
Petra was the first to realise, and she looked at Pietro, who was also shocked. In the split second for them to glance at each other, they were away, and already outside on the front lawn before the others had the chance to blink.  
  
*  
  
"Oh, no. No, no, no, no, no," Petra moaned over and over again. "Not here. Not now. Not them!" She turned and looked at Pietro, who was also looking up into the sky. "You don't think. . . do you?"  
  
Pietro didn't answer, as the other forty-two people who were there ran out onto the lawn.  
  
"Mein Gott!"  
  
"Oh, no!"  
  
The five metal orbs that had been hovering near the roof of the mansion landed in front of the group.  
  
The central one was the first to open, and revealed Magneto, the master of magnetism.  
  
The one on his immediate left opened next to reveal a giant of a man: Colossus.  
  
Then the one on the immediate right opened, and with a roar out came Sabertooth.  
  
Then the one on the far left opened, and out stepped Gambit, idly playing with a pack of playing cards as his red and black eyes surveyed the group in front of him.  
  
The last of the five was the one on the far right, and it contained Pyro, the mutant who mentally controlled flame.  
  
At the sight of Pyro, Petra's expression changed from worry, to one of confusion, and she looked at Pietro, as if he could clarify something for her.  
  
"Look!" shouted someone. "Up there! More!"  
  
Yes, there were more of those orbs, and there were five of them.  
  
And everyone could guess at who they contained.  
  
The orbs landed right behind Magneto's ones, and opened in much the same way as the others had done prior to their arrival.  
  
First, the centre one contained Magneto's Doppelganger, a woman with the same white hair, helmet, outfit and cold eyes as Magneto.  
  
Second, the one on the left opened to reveal a tall woman with the same metal skin as Colossus.  
  
Third, the one on the right, contained a very wild and cat-like looking woman with the same viscous glare as Sabertooth.  
  
Fourth, the one on the far left contained a woman with the same distinctive eyes as Gambit, who was also carrying a pack of playing cards. A staff could be seen with her as well.  
  
And last, but not least, the fifth and final orb opened to reveal what everyone knew to be Pyro's Doppelganger.  
  
But when it opened, everyone looked very confused, Petra and Pietro in particular.  
  
Petra was the first one to move, but when she ran up to the group, she ran up to Pyro, and not his Doppelganger, and she seemed to inspect him.  
  
"Pyro," she asked, looking at the Doppelganger. "Either something is very wrong here, or you make one really ugly chick."  
  
Everyone was silent for a moment, and then Pyro and his Doppelganger said at the same time, "I'm not a sheila!"  
  
You see, that was the cause of everyone's confusion.  
  
Both Pyro and his Doppelganger were male. 


	12. Pyro Mania!

Regina: I have decided to stop calling myself 'Queen of Random' here, as I think that by now we are all friends, no? Anyway, it seems a lot of you have found the idea of Pyro not switching genders hilarious - albeit confusing. Anyway, the reason for this will show up later on in the story. Oh, and now I have a sexy chere to use as a pawn in my story! And two Pyros will definitely make this much more interesting - especially when they see Amara. Sorry, being an Amyro fan, I had to put that in.  
  
Sorry that this has taken so long, it's just that I've been working on my new website recently. It's called 'Randomland', and it's the home to all of my random stuff! You can visit it here at Please do, and make sure to sign my guest book, as it is looking very empty at the moment, and that is making me sad.  
  
By the way, someone remarked about the whole Petra speaking German thing. Well, the idea came about when I was reading the Ultimate X-Men comics. I think it was 'Return to Weapon X', and anyway, Nightcrawler said something in German, and Quicksilver translated it.  
  
Oh, and keep reviewing, too! Reviews make me happy as well!  
  
Role Reversal  
  
Chapter Twelve: Pyro Mania!  
  
"Hold on a minute," said Scott. "Are you saying that you have not switched genders?"  
  
"No! We're both guys!"  
  
There was a pause, and then everyone burst out laughing.  
  
"Ha ha! They're both guys!"  
  
"I wonder what this means?!"  
  
"Maybe one of them had an operation!"  
  
"Yeah! But which one?"  
  
"Neither of us have had an operation!"  
  
"Okay, okay!" ordered Hank. "Everyone just let this go! This does not change anything! We still need to send everyone back to where they belong, so we are all going to have to work together." He turned and faced Xavier and Charlotte. "That is why they are here, right?"  
  
Charlotte nodded. "Yes. Magna contacted me earlier, and informed me that she and the others where also here."  
  
"And Magnus did the same for me," added Xavier.  
  
"Magnus? Magna?" asked Logan. "Are we going to have to go through all of this again?"  
  
"If that is what you want, Logan," replied Xavier with a smile. He faced Magneto again. "As all the others have done, you will need to introduce yourselves - as not all of my students will know exactly who you are - and your Doppelgangers."  
  
Magneto, clearly unhappy about all of this, reluctantly agreed. "I agree." There was a pause, and he began the long - and now very boring - introductions. "That is Gambit, and his Doppelganger, Stratagem." Stratagem and Gambit smiled at the X-Men and co.  
  
"This is Colossus, and Colossa." Both of them looked unhappy to be where they were.  
  
"That is Pyro, and. . . Pyro." The two were busy arguing with each there, saying the exact same thing at the exact same time, in the exact same breath. They were also mimicking each others' actions.  
  
Magneto was about to introduce Sabertooth and his Doppelganger, but they were busy. They were glaring at Logan and Lois, in the traditional fight postures.  
  
"Wolverine," growled Sabertooth, as tradition dictated.  
  
"Sabertooth," Logan growled in reply.  
  
Next it was the turn of Sabertooth's Doppelganger. "Wildcat."  
  
And then it was Lois' turn to name her opponent, but it was not the name that everyone expected. Oh, she said it in the way she was supposed to, but something was not right.  
  
"Fluffy."  
  
There was a pause.  
  
"Er, her name is Fluffy?"  
  
"That's just great!"  
  
Everyone was laughing, even Gambit and Stratagem, and the two Pyros, who had stopped fighting long enough so that they could watch this confrontation.  
  
'Fluffy' let out a roar. "My name is not Fluffy, Wildcat! My name is Sabrefang!"  
  
"I know that," replied Lois. "I just like calling you that because I know how much you hate it." She laughed, and so did Logan.  
  
"All right, everyone," interrupted Henrietta, distracting Sabrefang from launching herself at Lois, and Sabertooth from doing the same to Logan.  
  
"Let's get back to business," added Hank, following on from his Doppelganger.  
  
"Whatever that may be," said Magneta.  
  
"One question," said Scott. "What are we going to do about them?"  
  
Everyone looked at the new arrivals.  
  
They looked back at them.  
  
"I don't care," said Evan, "as long as we don't have to take them shopping."  
  
*  
  
"So," said Lana, looking at the new arrivals.  
  
"So," mimicked Pyro.  
  
"Okay, we're gonna need some first names here," said Carter. He looked at Pietro and Petra. "Well?"  
  
"Well, what?" asked Pietro.  
  
"Well, aren't you going to introduce them to us?" asked Kitty.  
  
"They can do it themselves," retorted Petra. "They're big girls. And boys," she added with a smile, looking at Gambit, Colossus and Pyro.  
  
"Oh, shut up!" shouted Ward, and everyone, even Petra, looked slightly taken aback by his outburst. "You," he pointed to Magneto's group - which was minus Sabertooth, as he had gone with Magneto - and to their Doppelgangers - also minus Sabrefang - and said, "Tell us your names, so that we can get on with this. His hands were surrounded with a blue light, so everyone quickly decided to comply with his demand.  
  
Gambit stopped fiddling with his playing cards to speak first. "The name is Remy." He smiled and tossed a card in Rogue's direction. Wearily, she caught it. When she saw it was not going to explode, she held onto it.  
  
Colossus went next. "I am Piotr Rasputin." Then he fell silent.  
  
Pyro grinned at the X-Men and company. "G'day, mates! I'm John Allerdyce! Oh, and the big kitty cat who's missing is Victor Creed."  
  
"Nice to meet you," grumbled everyone, as if they were at an AA meeting.  
  
Then Stratagem went. "My name is Renee," she said with a smile, that seemed to be aimed at Roué. Unlike her Doppelganger, she refrained from giving him a card.  
  
Colossa was as blunt as her Doppelganger. "I am Portia."  
  
And Pyro number two was just like - well, himself. "Well, mates, you probably know who I am, so I don't need to tell you! Oh, Sabrefang is called Victoria, by the way."  
  
"Looks like we're gonna have to do a Jean and Grey here," said Katrin.  
  
"You're right," added Roué, who was standing next to his silent Doppelganger.  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"Well," said Scarlett, "you're going to have to have a different name. Can you pick one."  
  
"Sure can," said Pyro number two.  
  
"Oh, really?" asked Petra, her tone mocking. "What are you going to be called then, Flame-Boy?"  
  
"Ooh, ooh!" shouted Pyro's Doppelganger, bouncing up and down with his hand in the air. "I can be Flame-Boy! I can be Flame-Boy!"  
  
"Fine then," said an exasperated Lance, over the giggles of pretty much everyone else.  
  
"Okay," said Flame-Boy (now remember, this is the Doppelganger here talking), "what are we going to do?"  
  
What indeed. 


	13. The Chapter Formerly Known as Thirteen

Regina: Finally, I finished this chapter. Sorry it took me so long – I've been working on my website, Mutant High, so go visit it once you've read this chapter – and reviewed it, of course. Gotta fly!  
  
Role Reversal  
  
Chapter Thirteen: The Chapter Formerly Known as Thirteen  
  
Now that there were a great deal more adults in the area to discuss the whole Doppelganger situation, that meant that they were all busy. . . discussing the whole Doppelganger situation.  
  
This whole thing is starting to get repetitive, isn't it?  
  
This left all of the teens (and the new arrivals who did not fall into that category any more) on their own.  
  
Need I say more?  
  
Perhaps I should.  
  
"So. . . you work for Magneto?"  
  
Not the greatest opening line from Kitty, might I say.  
  
"I have no choice."  
  
Not the greatest response from the Russian now known to the teens as Piotr.  
  
I love intelligent conversation.  
  
I shouldn't really go into what Carter and Portia were saying, now should I?  
  
Good answer.  
  
Meanwhile, two certain Cajuns were doing their own things.  
  
Renee was dealing out the cards faster than the eye could see (except for Pietro and Petra, who could see it quite well), while Remy shuffled like he was working in a Los Vegas casino. The audience they had gathered watched with wide eyes.  
  
"This is so cool!" said Evan. Eva nodded in agreement. She was staring to get a little dizzy from the cards that were flying about before her eyes. But she was still enjoying it all. Unlike Rogue and Roué, who walked away, saying that they needed to find an adult.  
  
"Now that shouldn't be too hard!" called Katrin.  
  
"There's twice as many as normal!" added Kurt, finishing off his Doppelganger's sentence. He looked at Katrin, then added, "But since when are things normal here?" Katrin shrugged her shoulders, but said nothing.  
  
But the card game finished before it had even begun, due to what sounded like a riot coming from behind the group.  
  
"I called first!"  
  
"No, I did!"  
  
"No, I did!"  
  
"You liar!"  
  
"You liar!"  
  
A fight had broken out between John and, ahem, Flame-Boy. They had launched themselves at each other, and throwing punches wildly. But every punch they threw was either blocked by the other, or connected at the same time an identical punch was thrown, which later connected.  
  
So by the time everyone had seen what was actually going on, they both had identical injuries, and it was still impossible to tell the two apart.  
  
But the problem was solved by the return of Rogue and Roué.  
  
Without any hesitation (save for a quick glance between the two, followed by a nod) they both grabbed the two warring Australians and pulled them apart.  
  
And in case you haven't figured it out yet, their hands were bare.  
  
After a few seconds - and a few flashes from the usage and drainage of power - John and Flame-Boy (I still can't get past that) dropped to the ground, unconscious. Rogue and Roué on the other hand, were experiencing a very different reaction.  
  
"Crikey!"  
  
"Strewth!"  
  
Everyone just looked at them blankly. "What did you just say?" asked Pietro, the first to recover.  
  
Rogue and Roué frowned, then shook their heads, as if they were clearing them of something. "That was weird," said Rogue.  
  
"Fair dinkum," replied Roué. Then his eyes widened, and he covered his mouth, preventing anything else from spilling out.  
  
"So, what was that?" asked Carter.  
  
"That's the tongue of our people, mate," explained John, getting up.  
  
"And a beautiful language it is, too," added Flame-Boy.  
  
"Whatever you say," said Renee.  
  
"So what were you two fighting about, anyway?" asked kitty. "Or should I be too afraid to ask?"  
  
John and Flame-Boy looked at each other. "You can come out, now, love."  
  
"Who are you talking to?" asked Petra. "Those little bunnies in their flame coloured high heels?"  
  
John and Flame-Boy scowled. "'Course not."  
  
"They were talking about me," came a quiet voice. Amara stepped out from behind the tree which, a few moments before, John had thrown Flame-Boy into. Or maybe it was the other way around. (Even I can't tell the difference!)  
  
"Why were they talking about you?" asked Evan.  
  
Amara said nothing. John, on the other hand. . .  
  
"How could we not be talking about her?! She is better than all of you combined!" John looked over at Flame-Boy and added, "And she's all mine."  
  
"Is not! I saw her first!"  
  
"Na ah!"  
  
"Ya hah!"  
  
"Well, I'm not doing anything with the guy one! He's from your world!" John shot back. "So you can have him!"  
  
"Oh, no, you can have him!"  
  
"No, you!"  
  
"No, you!"  
  
"No, y-"  
  
"SHUT UP!" shouted everybody else. "WE DON'T CARE!"  
  
John and Flame-Boy shut up.  
  
"They do look weird," commented Jean. "I mean, they're identical, even down to the bruises and scratches."  
  
"Take a picture, it'll last longer," said John.  
  
"Hey! That gives me an idea!" cried Petra, and before anyone could say anything more, she ran off in a blur of white.  
  
"Not again!" moaned Pietro.  
  
"Now you know how we feel, Maximoff."  
  
"I'm ba-ack!"  
  
And true to her words, Petra was back. And in her hands she held a digital camera. "Pictures taken on this should last for a long time," she said triumphantly.  
  
"Where did you get that?" asked Lana.  
  
"Pietro's room. It was in the same place where I keep mine."  
  
"How can you afford a digital camera?"  
  
"Same way we afford our wardrobes. Magneto and Magneta."  
  
"Um, I'll just accept that, and not ask any more questions," said Lance.  
  
"Smart move."  
  
"So," said Petra, raising the camera. "Say 'CHEESE!'" 


	14. Pictures Last Way Longer

Regina: I've been busy. We're on holidays you see, for the end of the first term. This is my senior year, so it's been a bit of a wild ride so far - although definitely not as interesting as the senior year of a few mutants I can think of. On the up side, I get to do things that I wouldn't have been able to do otherwise. But that new responsibility comes with a downside. I have to go to school in the holidays. No, I did not fail anything, I'm going to go do computer classes. Now, if you've read my most recent chapter of 'Trial by Fire', then you know what I'm gonna say - if you have, skip on down to the actual story - but if you haven't, listen to what I have to say. These computer classes will help me with my websites, which will - hopefully - have cool things like Flash in them. So I'll let you know how that goes, and if it works, go visit my sites. They're listed in my bio, including my new Yahoo! Group, 'Beauty of the Beast', which is devoted to Hank McCoy, if you haven't guessed.  
  
Before I forget, I have something which I have been meaning to say for the past couple of chapters, but I keep forgetting to put it in. Anyone heard that song 'Hit That' by The Offspring? 'Cause every time I hear that song I keep thinking of Pietro and Petra. You might be able to guess what bits are the ones that keep triggering those random thought processes in my head. For Pietro it's the bits which go something along the lines if 'I'm on a roll, with all the girls I know', and for Petra it is, 'I'm on the run, I'm chasing guys for fun'. I apologise if I wasn't too accurate on the actual lyrics, but I haven't heard that song in a while. But now that you think about it (hopefully you are thinking about it) it does kind of make sense, in a random sort of way.  
  
Oh, and I own absolutely nothing mentioned in this introduction/chapter/story - even my websites are about stuff I don't own (like the X-Men movie).  
  
Role Reversal  
  
Chapter Fourteen: Pictures Last Way Longer  
  
"I said, 'say cheese'!" said Petra, when nobody followed her instructions.  
  
"I think we'd all be better off if we did what she said," said Pietro. "Trust me on this."  
  
"CHEESE!" said everyone, and the camera made a clicking sound as Petra took the picture.  
  
"There," she said. "That wasn't too hard now, was it?"  
  
Nobody said anything.  
  
"I said, that that wasn't too hard now, was it?"  
  
"No, Petra," everyone chorused.  
  
The speed demoness smiled. "Thank you." She examined the camera, and the photograph she had just taken, then frowned.  
  
"Petra? What's the matter?"  
  
She shrugged her shoulders. "Now what do we do?"  
  
"Huh?"  
  
Petra frowned again. "Well, I only got this stupid thing because John over there said, 'Take a picture, it'll last longer'. Now the novelty's worn off."  
  
"After one photo?" asked Grey.  
  
"We go through this every time, yo," explained Tonya. "We get her something for her birthday or Christmas, and five seconds later she's bored with it."  
  
"Pietro's just as bad, yo."  
  
"We don't get her anything now," added Fredericka. (Amazingly, this is only the third time she has spoken in this entire story, the first time to tell her Doppelganger that she had finished eating - followed by a burp - and the second time being to ask if they were having duck for dinner - after the discovery that Bobby's surname was different to his Doppelganger's. His was Drake, and Bobbi's was Duck.)  
  
"And you wonder why I don't like you," Petra shot back, before anyone else had a chance to blink - except for Pietro, who had been about to say the exact same thing, except Petra had beaten him to the punch.  
  
"I know I'm gonna regret this later," began Evan, "but-"  
  
"But what?" demanded several voices.  
  
"Let him finish!" replied Eva.  
  
"- since we've got a camera, we could use it to take pictures-"  
  
"Wow," Pietro said drily. "Anyone would think you just invented that thing, Daniels."  
  
"Let him finish!" repeated Eva.  
  
"- of us," Evan finally got to say.  
  
"Us?"  
  
"Us and the Doppelgangers."  
  
"Us and the Doppelgangers?"  
  
"Is there an echo in here?" asked Evan, a tinge of annoyance in his voice.  
  
"Is there an echo in here?"  
  
"Maximoffs!"  
  
"It would be a neat thing to have," said Kitty. "I mean, how many people can say that they've met themselves from another dimension?"  
  
"Twenty-seven, last time I counted," replied Pietro.  
  
"Twenty- hold on," said Carter, looking around. "One, two. . . ten, eleven. . . sixteen, seventeen. . . twenty-six, twenty-seven." He looked up from his count. "I hate to say it, but he's right."  
  
Pietro looked smug, as he always did, but said nothing.  
  
"I think it's settled. We're going to be taking pictures of. . . ourselves." For some reason Scott did not look too thrilled at the prospect.  
  
"You can start with me," ordered Petra, walking away with the camera. Slowly people followed her, as she had the camera.  
  
As his Doppelganger walked away, Pietro said to Lance, "You know what? I hate that woman. She acts as though she's the best thing in the world, and all she ever thinks about is herself!"  
  
Why does that not surprise me? Lance thought to himself. But out loud he said, "What's bothering you about that? Have you forgotten that she's you or something?"  
  
"Huh. Now that I think about it -"  
  
"You can think?"  
  
"- there's absolutely nothing wrong with her. Why can't all of my girlfriends be like that?"  
  
This time Lance said nothing.  
  
*  
  
"Why do I get the feeling that I should be concerned about the students?"  
  
"I have no idea."  
  
"Maybe it's the fact that we left them to their own devises with the henchmen of our greatest enemy, and their Doppelgangers?"  
  
"Could be."  
  
"You're right. It's probably nothing to worry about."  
  
*  
  
Contrary to what the adults were thinking, the students were having a merry old time, making a photographic record of the fact that there was two of each student, one boy, and one girl.  
  
"Hey, Forge and Form! Say cheese!"  
  
"We're trying to work here!"  
  
"What's that a picture of? Wow, his head really is shiny, especially from above."  
  
"My turn with the camera!"  
  
"Käse!"  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"It's German for cheese!"  
  
"What's German for crackers?"  
  
"Kurt!"  
  
"No, it's not! Don't trust her!"  
  
"Hey, Flame-Boy, look behind you! Forest fire!"  
  
"Where?"  
  
After a whole range of candid shots, it came to the shots that Scott and Scarlett had asked for: posed photos of each set of Doppelgangers ("Okay, Piotr and Portia, take a step back. Okay, a bit further. Bit further. I said a bit further!")  
  
Of course, something like that is too big an ask for these teens to do without causing some sort of mayhem.  
  
And it was Pietro and Petra who caused it. Duh.  
  
Somebody had suggested that each pair stand together, one arm on their Doppelganger's shoulder (save for John and Flame-Boy, who were still sore over their fight for Amara's affections), as if they were friends, or siblings, which might be a better term, as they were genetically identical, save for their twenty-third chromosome (for those who did not take, or failed High School Biology, that's the one that determines the sex of the individual).  
  
But, of course, one of the Maximoffs decided that they had to liven things up a bit.  
  
"Okay, you two, say cheese," said Kitty, but in the split second before she pressed the button, Petra grabbed her Doppelganger. Nobody saw what she did until Kitty looked at the photograph half a minute later.  
  
"Petra!"  
  
"What did she do?"  
  
Petra was silent, and so was Pietro, although the others later attributed it to shock.  
  
"She kissed him, yo!"  
  
"Tipped him right over and gave it to him!"  
  
"Hey, Pietro, you all right?"  
  
Pietro blinked a few times, his brain function seemingly slowed, an odd occurrence for someone like him. "Yeah."  
  
"What is it?"  
  
He blinked a few more times, then broke into a huge grin. "I knew I was a good kisser, but not that good!"  
  
"Pietro!" 


	15. Farewell to the Friends

Regina: Sorry it's taken me so long to update this particular story, but I have been busy building my Amyro website, Burning Souls, and have just completed my first Amyro fic, Trial by Fire. But I have now written the next bit of Role Reversal, so happy reading!  
  
Role Reversal  
  
Chapter Fifteen: Farewell to the Friends  
  
"Sorry to interrupt, girls," interrupted Form, "but Forge and I have an announcement."  
  
"Girls?"  
  
"It's like when we say 'guys'," guessed Scott. "Right?"  
  
The Doppelgangers nodded.  
  
Everyone, including the adults, who had finally returned from their important business, looked at the pair. "Are you ready?" asked Form, using a cloth to get the last traces of grease off her hands.  
  
Everyone nodded. "Sure."  
  
"We finally fixed the machine!" Forge and Form announced together.  
  
"You did?! I thought you said it would take a lot longer!"  
  
"How did you do it?"  
  
"We can go home now!"  
  
"Thank goodness! I didn't know how much more I could take of these freaks!"  
  
"Charles!"  
  
"What?"  
  
"So?" asked Scarlett. "When will we be able to go home?"  
  
"As soon as you want," replied Forge.  
  
"Woohoo!" shouted Carter. "Let me at it!"  
  
"Why are you so excited?" asked Petra blandly.  
  
Carter jerked a thumb in Lana's direction. "Her. She won't stop following me. Maybe when we're home, we can stay a fair distance apart."  
  
Lana's jaw dropped. "What? How can you say that, after everything?"  
  
"Like this: Her. She won't stop following me. Maybe when we're home, we can stay a fair distance apart."  
  
The ground began to rumble beneath everyone.  
  
"Okay," said Lance, "you can't blame this on me."  
  
"Oh, yeah?" asked Lana. "Well, I can blame this on you! This is all your fault! I was just following that stupid plan of yours -"  
  
"Technically, that would be your plan as well."  
  
"Shut up, Petra! As I was yelling," Lana continued, "I was just following that stupid plan of yours, the one you said would help me get Carter, and it's all backfired!"  
  
"Hang on," said Carter. "What plan?"  
  
"His plan!"  
  
"Lance," asked Kitty. "Is this true?"  
  
"Well, it seems the earth isn't going to move tonight."  
  
"Pietro!"  
  
"Unless it's just -"  
  
"Petra!"  
  
"Sorry!" the speed demons replied in unison. Not that they meant it.  
  
"Maybe it's a good thing that we fixed the machine," Forge muttered to Form. "We'd all go insane."  
  
Form nodded thoughtfully. "Although it's a bit late for them," she replied, inclining her head towards the group.  
  
Forge nodded, too. "Let's just get this over with." He stepped forward, interupting the arguing teens. "Follow us."  
  
Everyone followed Forge and Form down into the lab, where the machine had, true to their word, had been fixed.  
  
"Cool," said Evan.  
  
"Let's get this show on the road," added Eva.  
  
"Okay," said Forge, and he and Form began what appeared to be a complicated procedure of turning on buttons and flicking switches (this was merely just for show. It was already set up when the X-Men and co. showed up).  
  
Suddenly, there was a flash of white light, and the wall in front of them glowed with it.  
  
And then the Doppelgangers saw something.  
  
"Home," whispered Katrin.  
  
"After you," said Form, gesturing to the portal.  
  
Scarlett and Grey looked at each other. Then, without speaking, they took each other's hand, and walked through the portal, looking back at Scott and Jean briefly before disappearing out of sight.  
  
The others took their time to say goodbye.  
  
"Miss you."  
  
"It was fun."  
  
"Not so fast, Petra, you're coming with us whether you like it or not!"  
  
"Put me down, Colossa! Let go! Stop laughing Flame-Boy, if I'm going down, you're coming with me!"  
  
And then, before anyone else realised it, the Doppelgangers were gone.  
  
"I think we'll be going now, Charles," said Magneto. With a swish of his cape, he started to walk off. "Sabertooth, Gambit, Colossus, Quicksilver, Pyro."  
  
All of the named mutants followed him. Save one.  
  
"Pyro!"  
  
Pyro still didn't move.  
  
"Pyro!"  
  
Nope.  
  
"Flame-Boy?"  
  
"You rang?"  
  
"Oh, man!" shouted all the teens as one.  
  
Okay, after exchanging Flame-Boy for the real Pyro, Magneto, his henchmen, and the Brotherhood all left.  
  
And everything went back to normal.  
  
Or so it seemed.  
  
"Kurt! Phone call!"  
  
"Got it!"  
  
After a hurried and secretive conversation, Kurt went to speak to the X- Men.  
  
"Forge has invited us to his place. He says he's got a surprise for us."  
  
"Why do I get a bad feeling about this?" 


	16. Rome Reversal

Regina: Well, the Doppelgangers have all gone home. But that doesn't mean that the adventure's over! Read on to find out!  
  
Role Reversal  
  
Chapter Sixteen: Rome Reversal  
  
"A time machine? Honestly, Forge!"  
  
"I actually think it's cool, Jean."  
  
"And I would have thought that you of all people, Kurt, would be against something like this."  
  
Kurt shrugged his shoulders. "So Forge has had a couple of accidents."  
  
"Like, who hasn't?" Kitty interjected.  
  
"Most peoples' accidents do not involve parallel universes," Scott reminded everyone.  
  
There was a mummer of agreement from the X-Men, who had gathered around the time machine Forge had just completed.  
  
"Why did you build a time machine again?" asked Rogue.  
  
"To visit the 70s, man!" Forge replied almost instantly.  
  
"You've got to admit, that sounds fair," Evan said. Then he went back to counting the buttons on the machine. He had been at 236 at last count.  
  
"Are you sure that you should be doing this?" asked Scott, eyeing the machine nervously. "I mean, the space-time continuum is not something you should just play with."  
  
"It's groovy," replied Forge. "I made sure to get all the kinks out of it before I invited you guys over."  
  
"Speaking of that," said Jean. "Why did you invite us over here?"  
  
Forge smiled. "So you could come with me!"  
  
There were positive responses from Evan, Kurt, Kitty and Rogue, but it seemed that Scott and Jean were not so excited about the idea.  
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
"We're going to the 70s, we're going to the 70s, we're going -"  
  
"Groovy, man!"  
  
"Hey, what's this button do?" asked Evan, who, during his count, had found a shiny series of buttons that screamed 'push me!'  
  
"That sets the date, that other one sets the place, and the big red one creates the vortex," Forge replied, only half-hearing what Evan had asked.  
  
"I'll set the date then."  
  
"I've got a feeling that something will go wrong," said Jean.  
  
"Can I push the button?"  
  
"Whatever." Then Forge realised what had happened, and spun around just in time to see what date Evan had set, and go to push the red button. "Don't push the -"  
  
There was a bright light, a whooshing sound, and then the X-Men arrived at their destination.  
  
"- button," Forge finished tiredly.  
  
Everyone looked around. "Where are we?" they all asked at once.  
  
Then, "Is that a toga?"  
  
"FORGE! WHERE ARE WE?!"  
  
"The better question is when."  
  
"WHEN ARE WE?!"  
  
"Ancient Rome," Forge replied. Then he looked at Evan. "In the year 70 A.D." 


	17. The End of the Beginning

Role Reversal  
  
The End of the Beginning?  
  
If you're wondering what I am meaning by that, hold on, as I'm about to explain.  
  
That was technically the end of Role Reversal, but it has paved the way for the sequel, 'Rome Reversal'! I wanted to have the story end with an opening for a sequel – and I wanted to have Forge build a time machine. Originally, the sequel would involve the X-Men and company having to deal with themselves ten or twelve years younger – that means a lot of babies! But that idea eventually became Rome Reversal, where they end up in ancient Rome, thanks to Evan.  
  
Yep, that's about it from me. I would individually thank everyone who has reviewed so far, but as this story has about 135 reviews (when I wrote this on May 4 2004) and it would be impossible for me to name and thanks everyone.  
  
So instead, big thank yous to everyone who reviewed, making Role Reversal my most popular story!  
  
And to clarify, I do not own anything mentioned in the previous story!  
  
I am going to miss this story, and all the Doppelgangers. I wish I could draw, 'cause then I would draw them all together, like the photos that were taken.  
  
But that's all from me. This is Regina, the Queen of Random, signing off.  
  
Goodbye. 


End file.
